


A Dollar's Bet

by bornafluffychild



Category: Ugly Betty
Genre: A/U, F/M, Some Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-12 07:50:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 59,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2101506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bornafluffychild/pseuds/bornafluffychild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a night that was better left forgotten, Becks walks back into Betty's life at the Fashion Cares party and turns things in a new direction.</p><p>A/N: This is my first UB fic, so please be gentle with me.</p><p>I've always wondered what would happen if Becks had actually re-appeared as a main character later on in the series.  This is A/U, picking up at the end of "Plus None" in Season 4 with some flashbacks to Season 1.  Some canon is touched on in this.  I originally thought it might eventually turn into Detty, but I've since abandoned that idea because Becks actually grew on me after a while.</p><p>I have the first several chapters up and will be adding more soon, I promise.  I still haven't quite found the ending yet but there are several more chapters to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty or its characters. Please don't sue me.

“Will you excuse me? I love this song!” Betty exclaimed as she heard Dancing with Myself come over the sound system.

Barely registering Matt’s reply, Betty stepped out on to the dance floor, pretending to be more confident than she really felt and dancing to the song. A few measures in she found herself lost, thinking about how free and wonderful it felt to not be thinking about any of the men she knew; not feeling obligated. Daniel had someone else to rely on now that Natalie was his assistant and Matt had moved on. She was free to be Betty. She could do whatever she wanted to do and it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter who was watching, she was going to enjoy the night. Maybe being replaced by them was not going to be so bad. She felt lighter already.

“My God, what a woman,” he found himself uttering under his breath, despite himself. It was like he was seeing her for the first time even though he knew it wasn’t. It just was different. The woman next to him glanced up with a confused look that asked him who he was talking about and why. He ignored her as he found himself pulled to the dance floor. As he came closer to her, he couldn’t help himself from taking in the smell of her—it was like lavender mixed with sunshine.  
“Can I cut in?” He asked in a gravelly voice as he snaked around in front of her.

“Cut in? Cutting in would imply that I was dancing with someone but clearly I’m not,” Betty looked up confused, to find a pair of bright blue eyes looking down on her. 

“Oh my god” breathlessly, Betty said. It sounded more like a whisper than anything else.

“I guess you could start saying that now. Might as well get the practice in for later, eh? But at any rate, if I can’t actually cut in, can I join you then?” He replied back with an arrogant half smile.

Betty raised an eyebrow at his question, crossing her arms across her chest and stopping to hold his gaze as she teased, “Did you miss the name of this song or just the entire chorus?”

“True, it is called Dancing with Myself, which you are doing admirably. I just thought that maybe it would be better to dance together or even do a number of things together,” he winked at her as she rolled her eyes at his statement.

“God, Becks, you’re incorrigible.”

“That is what my parents, nannies and teachers told me for most of my life. But you, Betty Suarez, look like a lot of fun right now. So, answer my question—can I join you?”

“Sure. But don’t try anything funny.” She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to shoot him her most serious and nasty look but could not help smiling just slightly.

“Why, Miss Suarez, I would never dream of doing anything untoward. You must have me confused with someone else,” he replied in feigned surprise as he softly chuckled.

“Naturally.” Betty flipped her hair back and rolled her eyes at his jest. Somehow, Becks had always had a knack for wheedling his way into her brain and maybe even into her heart. She realized suddenly that during their exchange she had began to blush slightly.

I can’t imagine why I would blush while he ‘s talking to me. It’s not like I have a crush on Beckett Scott.

Just as Betty’s silence was beginning to be long enough to make Becks wonder what was going on in her head, the song changed. They both realized at the same time that the song coming on was much slower, since it was “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys.

“This is a surprising choice for a Wilhelmina party.” Betty remarked, arms still folded as she cast her gaze over toward where the DJ was, trying to avoid wondering if Becks would ask her to dance.

“Yep. I know one DJ that is definitely getting fired tonight. But hey, let’s make the best of it. Dance with me?” Becks extended his hand out to Betty, hoping she wouldn’t notice that it was shaking slightly as he silently prayed he didn’t sound too lame.

“Uh, sure. But like I said, nothing funny,” Betty reached her hand out to place it in his and momentarily noted how his hand shook just slightly as she took it and felt just the tiniest bit damp. Effortlessly, he slipped his other arm around her waist and as they began to dance she could have sworn she heard him sigh as though he had just released a deep breath he had been holding.

“If I’m not allowed to do anything funny then does that mean no jokes? If so, I’m afraid that we’re going to have a very boring dance, then. What do you think, Miss Suarez?”

“You know what I mean. And my god, stop calling me Miss Suarez, Becks. You know my name. You’re making me feel like we’re in the middle of a Jane Austen novel. It’s like I’m supposed to start referring to you as ‘Mr. Scott’ and curtsy or something.”

Becks couldn’t help laughing slightly at her comment. Shaking his head he held her gaze for a minute while he tried to think of how exactly to reply. “The last time we were together, I remember being a perfect gentleman. Nothing inappropriate happened. Well, at least I didn’t do anything inappropriate. And at any rate, Betty, I was only referring to you as ‘Miss Suarez’ because last time you were very clear with me that was what I was supposed to call you. If you want to curtsy, however, that’s entirely up to you,” Becks couldn’t hide his smile as he heard Betty groan slightly and shake her head.

“I was hoping that you and I would both forget about that. It was a long time ago. Becks, you promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone about it. I, uh, wasn’t exactly myself that night. Promise me you won’t mention it around Daniel? Things are already weird enough with him.”

“A gentleman never would tell such things.”

“Yeah, that’s not reassuring at all, Becks. I wouldn’t entirely think you’d identify yourself as a gentleman.”

The smile disappeared from Becks’ face and his eyes grew slightly wider and—was she just imagining it?—sadder. “You certainly know how to woo a guy, Betty. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. Your secret, as it always has been, is safe with me.” Becks couldn’t help but cast his eyes toward the ground, not wanting Betty to see that he felt slightly hurt by her comment.

“Becks, hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” Betty heaved out a sigh as she tried to maneuver herself to catch his eye and get him to look at her. “I mean, you know you and Daniel have a certain reputation. You sleep with a lot of women. You don’t even remember their names. Daniel has changed now and hasn’t done that since Molly but you and I both know that you’re kind of a man slut.” Becks’ head jerked up at that comment.

“Wow, Betty. For someone who hates how much she is judged by others, you certainly are judgmental.”

“I… what? Whatever, Becks. You weren’t exactly nice to me when I first met you.”

“Yeah, but that changed, remember? You know, I might have had my wild days or, what did you call me? Oh yes, ‘man slut’. Sorry, I had my ‘man slut’ days, but those were a while ago. Daniel isn’t the only one who has changed, Betty.”

Betty realized suddenly her error. Becks’ eyes weren’t laughing or happy now, but cold and slightly sad.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. You know I don’t mean it, right? We haven’t talked in a long time. I think the last time was when? Petra-gate? I want to hear how things are with you. If you’re different now, then tell me about it.”

“I think you’ve already made up your mind about that. It’s fine. Forget I said anything.”

“No, honestly, Becks. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t judge you, especially since we haven’t talked in so long. I’m sure I barely know anything about you. Not that I ever knew that much to begin with, though.”

“Enough to jump into bed with me once.” Becks winked at her with a smile. 

“Hey, don’t say that too loud. People will get the wrong idea.”

“Don’t worry, Betty, no one will ever need to know.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback to Season 1, picking up at the end of "I'm Coming Out".
> 
> Disclaimer: I still don't own Ugly Betty or any of the characters. Pleas don't sue.

“Is it fun having a sister?” Daniel asked, clutching the bottle of champagne against his side as he watched his father be led away in handcuffs as his once-dead-brother-now-turned-living-sister smiled at the scene.

“Now wouldn’t be a good time to ask me that.” Betty looked over at him and gently slid the bottle out from under his arm. “Daniel, let me get the town car for you. You shouldn’t be here now. Let’s get you home so you can deal with all of this in private.”

Before Daniel could protest, Betty was guiding him by the elbow away from the runway, through the kitchen and to the street. She had already called the town car as they were walking and as they approached the curb, it was parked, waiting for them.

“Betty, you don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Take me home.”

Betty blinked a few times, attempting to understand what Daniel said.

“Daniel, I’m not. The town car is going to take you home. I am staying here. I have to make sure the after party goes well and then settle everything out. You are going home because you’re drunk and frankly, the paparazzi will eat you alive tonight. You can’t end up saying something to the press when you’re this drunk. It will only make things worse for everyone. Now get in the car.”

“Oh, sorry. That makes sense. Thanks, Betty. I’m sorry about…about earlier.”

“Just.   Just get in the car, Daniel.”

With that, Betty gave him a quick hug and then pushed him into the open door of the town car, closing it behind him. As the car pulled away and out of sight, Betty sighed and had one thought.

_I need some alcohol._

The after party, while subdued for a Mode Fashion Week after party, was still going full swing. People’s moods were somber, wondering what the series of announcements today—that Bradford Meade was charged with murdering Fey Sommers and that Alex, now Alexis, Meade was back from the dead—meant for their jobs. Since they were Modies that meant that they had one plan of action to deal with this drama: drink and find someone to go home with for the night.

Betty sat in the corner at a table by herself, groaning quietly at how the world was moving before her eyes without her permission. As though she had taken a page out of Daniel’s book of ‘How to Cope With Disasters of the Personal Variety’, Betty clung to a bottle of champagne that she had already half drank. Christina had sat with her for a while, telling her not to worry about Hilda and Daniel’s kiss; that it wouldn’t change anything at work for her because it was clear they were both just drunk. By this time tomorrow, Christina claimed, no one would even remember what happened since Alexis was now alive and a woman and Bradford was in custody. Going back over those words, Betty was distracted enough that she didn’t even notice him slip into the chair across from her at the table until he spoke.

“Oof, I didn’t take you for a drinker, Betty Baby. While I know things are bad, I didn’t think you would be ascribing to the ‘Modie’ way of coping with reality.”

Betty looked up at Becks, feeling annoyed but also confused why he seemed to swim around in front of her eyes. Maybe she needed to get her glasses prescription checked.

“Today sucked. I’m allowed to wallow for a while.”

“I understand and I even heartily agree. But where’s your boss-man, Daniel?”

“Home.”

“Home?”

“What, did I stutter? Yes, he’s home.”

“Why is he home? How did that happen?”

“Car. I put him in it. It wouldn’t be good for him to be here with the press while he’s drunk and dealing with…all of this” Betty hiccupped and waved her hand in the general direction of the after party.

“That makes sense. I bet he is really drunk. What I don’t understand is why you’re drunk. Worried about your job?”

“No. I mean, yes. God. Today was terrible. Dead Alex is Alive Alexis and Bradford killed Fey? I thought it was bad enough that Daniel kissed Hilda. Not only might I not have a job tomorrow but I can’t even go home because _she’ll_ be there.” Betty knocked back another long drag from the bottle of champagne and then half dropped the bottle back on the table as she hiccupped again.

“Who will be there, Betty Baby?”

“Hilda. My sister. Also, I’m not ‘Betty Baby’. I’m clearly _no one’s_ baby. I’m definitely not yours. It’s ‘Miss Suarez’ to you, bucko.” Betty jabbed a finger into Becks’ firm shoulder to punctuate her statement and realized that Becks was laughing at her.

“Ok, Ok. Point taken, Miss Suarez. So Daniel kissed your sister, eh? No wonder you’re getting wasted. I wouldn’t want my boss to kiss any of my relatives.”

“Yeah. I mean, why does everyone like Hilda better? The models, the staff, Daniel. Everyone thinks Hilda is so great. I work here for months and I might as well not exist. Hilda is here for 10 minutes and everyone loves her. It just isn’t right.”

“Well, I don’t know who Hilda is but I definitely like you more than her. You’re kind of an adorable drunk, you know. I don’t think you have to worry much. Wasn’t there that one guy, Harry? He likes you, right?”

“Henry. God, why can’t anyone get it right? Yeah, I guess he did. Hilda threw out his phone message to me weeks ago. Then she comes and steals my workplace from me. I can’t believe it. Is she just trying to ruin my life or something? Henry hasn’t even come around to see me since this morning. I don’t know where he is.”

“Well, you’re better off forgetting him then. I know how to pick up women and that’s not how it’s done.”

“Henry isn’t like you.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can think that all you want but he’s hiding something. When he’s made an advance, a guy only disappears like that if there’s something else going on. Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Oooooooookay, Becks. OK. Thanks for the advice. Hey, isn’t that the dollar that you bet Daniel earlier?”  
  
“You heard us talking?”

“No, Daniel told me about it.”

“Ah, that explains it. Well, I guess I get to keep it this year. I’ll just hold on to it until next time, I guess.” Becks tucked the dollar back into the inside pocket of his jacket and patted it as though he was worried about keeping it safe.

“Of course. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunity to use it.” Betty tipped the champagne bottle back again to take a long drink. Despite hiccupping in the middle of it, she managed to not spit champagne over herself or anyone else but the world was still swimming around in front of her, which was becoming pretty irritating.

“Hey, Miss Suarez, you look a little confused. Are you feeling OK?”

“I’m fine. It’s just funny, I don’t remember getting on a tilt-a-whirl.”

“Tilt-a-whirl? You mean the carnival ride that spins you around?”

“Yeah, everything keeps moving around a lot. It’s really starting to bug me.” Betty hiccupped again and splayed her arms out in front of her, as if she was trying to hold on to the world in front of her and hold it in place. To her dismay, it still wasn’t working. More irritatingly, she could hear Becks laughing across the table from her. She glared over at him.

“Sorry, Miss Suarez, but you are _wasted_. The world isn’t moving on its own and we’re not on a tilt-a-whirl. You’re just so smashed that you think it is. How much have you had to drink?”

Betty motioned over to the champagne bottle, holding her hand up to the top of the remaining liquid in it “about this much.”

“Do you drink often?” Becks asked, raising his eyebrows as he realized about three quarters of the bottle was gone.

“No.”

“Well, then that explains the tilt-a-whirl feeling. Betty Ba—I mean, Miss Suarez—are you sure you don’t want to head out of here and maybe go home?”

“I already told you, I can’t go home. Hilda is there and I can’t stand to see her right now. She’s everywhere now—home, Mode. I’m surprised she’s not somehow at this party even though I fired her earlier today.”

“Well, it’s probably good she’s not. I’d hate to see what you’d say or do right now if she was here. Well, is there someone here who you might stay with tonight? A friend from work?”

“Hah! Friends from Mode. That’s funny. Becks, did you forget how people look at me there?”

“Well, what about your designer friend? The Scottish one who hangs out in the closet.”

“Christina? She’s already left. But I can’t leave anyway, I have to make sure everything gets wrapped up and that the party goes well.”

“Bet—Miss Suarez, I’m sure someone else can handle that. This whole party is almost done anyhow. How about this, I’m staying at the Plaza this week. Why don’t we get out of here, we’ll go grab something to eat since it’s still pretty early and if you want, you can sleep it off at my place tonight.”

“Don’t you have a dollar to win though? I know you kept it but don’t you have some models to hit on and take home with you?”

“Nah, I already hit my quota earlier today, if you know what I mean.” Becks winked at her quickly as he got up from the table and reached down to her to help her up from her chair. “Now, come along, Miss Suarez, let’s get out of here.”

“This isn’t fair. You say I’m drunk but you don’t seem drunk. You have to be drunk too so I’m not the only one.” Betty pushed Becks away, looking up at him with a pouting look on her face while she still clutched the bottle of champagne under her arm.

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. Here, let me have that.” Becks quickly grabbed the bottle of champagne from Betty and gulped down the last of it. Toward the bottom of the bottle he began to cough between drinks.

“Can’t handle champagne, Mr Scott? I thought you were a playing partyboy who could alcohol his handle?”

“I think you meant partying playboy, who could handle his alcohol, Miss Suarez. I can handle alcohol. I just can’t handle the carbonation of champagne like that. I can’t believe you’ve been chugging this all night. Scotch or whiskey is a lot easier to drink like that.” Becks tossed the empty bottle on to their table and then offered his arm for her to take.

“Why Mr. Scott, what a gentleman you are.” Betty looped her arm through his and they began walking from the party. Pretty quickly it became obvious that walking wasn’t Betty’s strong suit in her current condition and Becks found himself extracting his arm from hers and instead winding it around her waist to steady her as they went.

Once in the town car, Becks suggested they stop at a pub near his hotel for them to get some food in her system. After Betty sent a message to Justin to let Hilda and her father know she was out with a friend for the night, Betty settled into her seat and leaned her head against Becks’ arm. After a couple minutes Becks realized that she had fallen asleep. He laughed at himself for a moment before letting the driver know that their plans had changed and that he should drop them at the hotel instead.

_Here you are, Beckett Scott, with Daniel’s drunk, mousy assistant asleep against your shoulder. Hundreds of models and bottles of booze and instead of partying right now, you’re being Betty Suarez’s pillow. God, I’ll never live this down. Hopefully this doesn’t end up on page six. If it does, I’m sure Daniel will kill me._

The town car pulled to a stop in front of the Plaza. Becks shook Betty’s shoulder in an attempt to wake her. “Miss Suarez, we’re here. Time to get out.”

“What? Where are we?”

“The Plaza. Here, I’ll come around and help you out of the car.”

Becks half guided, half carried Betty into the hotel and on up to his suite. After awkwardly trying to balance an unsteady Betty while opening the door, Becks was able to steer her through the door, throwing a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the knob as he closed it, and deposit her on to the couch in the living room of the suite.

“Why are we here? I thought we were going to eat somewhere first.” Betty looked around the room, noticing the plush, luxurious furnishings filling just the living room of the suite. Even the couch she was sitting on probably cost more than the rent on her family’s house.

“We were but then you fell asleep in the car and I thought that maybe it’d be better to come back here and order some room service in case you felt tired.” Becks responded to Betty over his shoulder as he was rummaging through his suitcase. After a couple minutes he pulled out a t-shirt and basketball shorts and threw them over to her on the couch. “Here, you can wear these tonight.”

“Oh, trying to get me out of my clothes, I see.” Betty smiled over to Becks, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise.

“I would never dream to insult you like that. I know you’re not that type of woman, Miss Suarez. I just thought you might be more comfortable sleeping in those instead of your current outfit, but you’re welcome to sleep in what you’re wearing if you want. It’s up to you. If you want to change, you can feel free to use the bedroom. The bathroom is attached to it if you want to wash up or anything. Whatever you need, just let me know.” Becks sighed and plopped down in one of the arm chairs next to the sofa, clicked on the television and started thumbing through the room service menu.

“Oh, thanks Becks. I’ll uh, take you up on that. Be back in a moment.” Betty, despite concentrating on trying to walk smoothly out of the room, unsteadily stumbled toward the open bedroom doorway, first crashing into the doorframe but then once through it, closing the door behind her. Becks cringed, hoping that he wasn’t going to have to come pick her up after crashing into something. He started to wonder if maybe he should have offered to leave the living room so she could change there instead. It was too late for that now so he pushed the thought aside.

After about ten minutes of not hearing anything from the bedroom, Becks tentatively knocked on the closed door.

“Hey, Miss Suarez, are you feeling OK? Do you want me to order anything for you or do you need anything?” Hearing no response, Becks started to feel slightly panicked. Daniel would never forgive Becks if his assistant ended up in the hospital from alcohol poisoning or a concussion or something because Becks didn’t check on her.

He knocked more firmly on the door and started to reach for the knob, “Is everything OK? Listen, I’m going to come in just to get something from the room and make sure you’re feeling alright. If I shouldn’t come in for some reason, tell me now.” Hearing no response, Becks tentatively pushed the door open.

He expected to see something broken or maybe Betty on the floor, passed out. Instead the room stood in perfect order except for her outfit from the day sitting on the foot of the bed. He glanced around, hoping that since he didn’t see his clothes he lent her lying out that it meant he wasn’t walking in on her while she was changing. He noticed her hunched over in one of the two chairs in the corner of the room by the window wearing his Harvard t-shirt and basketball shorts with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. At first he thought that she was asleep again but when he noticed her shoulders shake, he knew that she wasn’t sleeping; she was crying.

Assuming his best arrogant, joking persona, he walked inside the doorway, “Miss Suarez, I have to say, you make that outfit look better than I do. Who knew my gym outfit would be more flattering on you.” Becks put on his best smile and kept his tone light as he walked over and took the chair next to her.

“I’m sure.” Betty pulled her gaze from the window and looked over at him reluctantly. She had clearly tried to wipe away the evidence of her tears before he sat down but he could still see the redness in her eyes and the smeared mascara.

“Hey, are you OK? I know you didn’t want me to notice, but you were obviously crying, Betty. Is this about Henry? Hilda and Daniel?”

“No. Yes. I guess something like that. I just hate how lonely I feel sometimes. I just wanted to have Fashion Week be this great time where I would prove that I belong at Mode and that I’m just as good as all of them. Instead, I got replaced by my sister and everything went to hell anyway, no matter what I did.”

“Hey, that happens. Life goes to shit and then we have to deal with it. How about this: since we left the party early but uh, I don’t think going out would be a good idea, I’ll order some food and a few drinks for us. We can watch a movie that you like and that I will inevitably hate and just forget about what happened today. Would that make you feel better?” He noticed a hint of a smile cross Betty’s face.

“As long as there’s something with chocolate in it for dessert.”

“Deal.” Becks patted her on the shoulder as he got up to find the room phone and call in their order.

“Oh, and Becks?”

“Yes, Miss Suarez?” Becks stopped and turned to face her, noticing her grinning wide.

“No champagne.” Betty made a sick face, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head.

“I wouldn’t even dream of it, Miss Suarez. I personally can’t bear to look at another bottle of it.”

 

About an hour later Becks and Betty were settled on the sofa, drinks in hand as they talked and half-watched E.T. playing in the background.

“Sorry if you hate my movie choice,” Betty half-slurred and took another sip.

“What? I love E.T. I’m kind of a science fiction geek but don’t tell anyone. It will ruin my reputation with the ladies.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. It can be our little secret.” Betty clumsily winked at him and started scooting across the sofa toward him. “Everything tonight can be our secret.”

Becks got a bad feeling in the bottom of his stomach as Betty inched closer. It wasn’t that he thought she was repulsive; just that she was really drunk and he didn’t want her to say or do something they’d both feel bad about in the morning.

“I think we both have enough secrets from tonight to keep each other silent already. But it’s getting late, Betty. It’s almost 2am so maybe it’s time for bed.”

“Oh yeah? Mr. Scott, I thought you’d never ask.” Betty started giggling as she leaned closer. Becks rolled his eyes at her and ran his hand over his face and through his hair.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant I’m getting tired so maybe we should go to sleep. I was planning on sleeping out here so you can have the bed. But that means that right now you’re sitting on where I’m planning to sleep so I need you to scoot so I can at least get a few hours of shut eye tonight.”

“OK.” Betty quickly got up and almost fell over, realizing that the additional alcohol had affected her more than anticipated. The world swam before her and she felt herself starting to fall.

Becks jumped up and caught her around the waist and started to prop her up against him.

“Whoops, there. A bit unsteady there, Miss Suarez.” Looking down at her, he checked to make sure she hadn’t passed out. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still awake but that walking the remaining distance to the bed might be more danger than it was worth. Instead, he leaned down and picked her up to carry her to bed. He gently set her on the foot of the bed while he pulled back the covers for her. Betty managed to sit up on her own and looked over at him as he busied himself moving pillows and blankets around.

“You’re so serious! I’m not as think as you drunk I am.” Betty was teetering back and forth as she sat on the bed. When Becks turned toward her, she suddenly reached out, grabbed his hand and pulled him over till he fell on to the bed next to her. “Jumping into bed with me, I see.”

“Not quite, Miss Suarez. Come on, honey, let’s get you settled under the covers so you can sleep this off. I probably shouldn’t have ordered you more alcohol.” Becks jumped up off the bed, hoping to put enough distance between them to keep her from being able to pull him over again. He wasn’t quite sure what she would do.

“Honey? Now it’s honey, huh? I thought I told you it’s Miss Suarez to you!” Betty began crawling across the bed till she was leaning against the pillows.

As she began struggling to get under the covers, Becks reached over and helped her get situated. Quickly, before anything else could happen, he left the room. He reappeared a minute later with a glass of water that he handed to her.

“Drink this before you go to sleep.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to drink anything else.”

“Just do it. It will make you feel better tomorrow. Trust me when I say you’ll thank me in the morning.”

Betty gulped down the water and handed the now empty glass to Becks. He walked toward the bedroom door, turning off the light and turning back briefly to say goodnight before he left, closing the door behind him.

 

_Why is the light so bright? God, why does my head hurt so much? Wait. Where am I? These…THESE ARE NOT MY CLOTHES. WHAT THE HELL?!_

Betty sat up with a start, squinting at the sunlight pouring into the room from the window. Without her glasses everything was blurry but she could make out that there was someone sitting next to her on the bed. The person handed her glasses to her and as she put them on, she recognized Beckett Scott.

“Good morning, sunshine.” Becks smiled down at her, holding a glass of water out to her and some aspirin. “I’m sure you want these. You probably have a monster of a hangover this morning after last night.”

Betty took them and as she drank, tried to remember what happened the night before that would explain why she appeared to be in a hotel room with Beckett Scott and wearing what she figured were probably his clothes. Panicking, she realized she didn’t remember anything after getting into a town car with Becks, who had offered that she could stay at his hotel suite after running into her at the Mode after party. She didn’t remember anything else and now she was here with a hangover and Becks sitting on the bed next to her.

“I, uh. Thanks for the water and the aspirin. I must have really drunk much more than I should have. Sorry about that.” Betty set the glass down and took a few deep breaths before looking back up at Becks, who was grinning like the cat who just ate the canary. Mentally she prepared herself to do what she knew she had to, “Becks, what happened last night?”

Becks looked down at his hands in his lap sheepishly and when he looked back up and met her gaze, his smile was even broader than it had been before and there was a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. “You slept all night in my arms.”

For a moment Betty felt a cold wave of panic wash over her as she wondered how she was going to explain this to anyone. But as she stared at Becks she recognized the familiar words.

“Daniel told you abut that?”

“Yep. Figured it would probably make you feel just as mortified as it did him. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so I could tell you that.” Becks started laughing for a few minutes and then stopped and looked back at her with a smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Suarez, nothing happened. You fell asleep in the town car so we came back here. We ordered some food and talked drunkenly while watching a movie. At about 2am we called it a night and since you were too drunk to walk, I carried you to bed and made you drink some water before going to sleep. I turned out the light and slept on the couch. Nothing to worry about. I kept my hands to myself.”

_You may have also tried to come on to me a bit and pull me into bed with you but I’ll leave that part out._

Betty looked at Becks for a few seconds, feeling like he was leaving something out. Her stare made him uncomfortable and he knew she wouldn’t stop staring at him until he told her what he was neglecting to disclose. Rolling his eyes, he sighed.

“Fine. You may have also kind of tried to pull me into bed with you but don’t worry, nothing happened.”

“Oh god. I can’t believe I did that. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret is safe with me. You know, you shouldn’t be ashamed. You were drunk and not entirely in control of all of your faculties. I doubt you really even realized what you were doing. Besides, I’d be more embarrassed if you _hadn’t_ have hit on me at least a little. I mean, come on, I’m Beckett Scott!” Becks grinned at her and stood up. “Let’s go get some breakfast and then I’ll drop you home.”

“OK,” Betty agreed, quietly. Becks turned to leave the room so Betty could change. Before he got out the door Betty couldn’t stop the urge to call him back. “Becks?”

“Yeah?” Becks looked back at her almost seeming hopeful at her calling his name.

“Thanks for being such a gentleman last night. I’m sorry I ruined your evening.”

“Betty, you didn’t ruin my night. Promise you won’t tell anyone, but I actually really enjoyed just watching a movie and talking to you, even if you were completely blitzed. I think I had a better time doing that than I’ve had with any of the models I’ve brought home with me, though that’s fun too.   It’s just a different kind of fun, I guess.” Becks added the last part with a wink and a chuckle.

“Well, I promise not to tell anyone if you promise not to.”

“Deal.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to where chapter 1 left off.
> 
> Disclaimer: I still don't own Ugly Betty or its characters. Please don't sue me.

“So what are you doing in New York?” Betty shook memories from that night at Fashion Week from her head. She was trying to change the subject as they danced, hoping to get as far away from the memories of that night as she possibly could.

“I’m here for a shoot and seeing some folks for a few days. I was invited to this party since I donate a lot of money to the charity and I do a lot of work for Mode.”

“So you’re here for a while?”

“Three days.”

“Maybe we could hang out while you’re here. I’d like to hear more about what you’re working on and how things are going. Would that be OK?” Betty noticed Becks smile slightly at her question.

“Yeah, I think that would be alright.” For a moment Becks found himself getting lost in her eyes, day dreaming about what they could do while he was there. Betty’s slightly confused and concerned look brought him back down to earth, “I haven’t heard this Beach Boys song in forever.” He lamely added.

“Me either. It always makes me think of some silly RomCom”

“Like Never Been Kissed?”

“Yeah. Hey, how do you know that movie? Don’t tell me the famous Beckett Scott is into chick flicks now. I’ll have to alert Fashion TV! You do have a reputation to uphold, you know. I know you said you’d changed but that is more than anyone would imagine.”

“Hah! No, I don’t love chick flicks. My sister does though and she made me watch it with her once when she was sick and I stayed home with her. I just figured it would be a movie you would like.”

“Well, you’re right, I do like it.”

“I bet you really loved Josie’s character. The smart girl with a bad wardrobe who gets picked on in high school and then gets to go back and be the popular girl and eventually gets the good looking guy.”

“Something like that. Though there’s a lot of lying in there, too, and everything almost gets destroyed. But yeah, I like the movie. Wait, did you say you have a sister?”

“Took you long enough. Yes, I do.”

“Wow, I never pictured you having a sibling. I can’t even imagine you being a kid. That seems so odd.”

“What? You thought I just was always walking around with a bottle of booze, maybe just shorter than I am now and on a playground instead of in a club?”

Betty couldn’t help but laugh at that image. “Something like that, I guess. Sorry, I’m just surprised. There are some surprising things I didn’t know about you, Becks.”

“Many of them, but we can talk about them another time. Maybe while I’m in town and we hang out like you suggested?”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

“Becks! Wow, man, I didn’t think I would see you here! It seems like it’s been ages since I last saw you!” Becks and Betty both turned to see Daniel walking across the dance floor toward them, Natalie in tow.

“Daniel, good to see you too, man.” Daniel and Becks shared a brief hug before Becks continued, “wow, looks like you have some dirt on your face. Oh wait, is that supposed to be a beard? That’s an interesting look for you, Daniel. Has page six given it its own column yet like they have for some other parts of you?” Becks and Betty both chuckled at his joke. Natalie glared at him angrily while Daniel stayed silent. “I don’t think I’ve met your lovely lady here, Daniel.” Becks changed the subject and turned to look at Natalie.

“Oh, Becks, this is my friend and new assistant, Natalie. I guess you could say she’s becoming the new Betty since Betty became a Features Editor. Natalie, this is an old friend of mine from college, Becks.” Becks shook Natalie’s hand quickly and noted how unhappy Daniel seemed about it. “So what are you doing here, Becks? I didn’t know you were going to be in New York…and with Betty.” Daniel nervously glanced at Betty as though he was just putting two and two together and didn’t like the result.

“As I was telling Betty a moment ago, I’m here for a shoot and decided to visit some friends while in town. When I saw Betty dancing I thought we’d catch up for a few. I was going to give you a call and see if you wanted to get a drink or something. I heard about Molly and I’m really sorry, Daniel.” Becks placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, giving it a sincere squeeze.

“Thank you, Becks. I don’t really drink anymore since I’ve started going to Group but maybe we can see each other and catch up before you leave town.” Daniel glanced over to Natalie who made a slight motion with her head as if to signal him that they should go. Quickly, Daniel continued, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation. It’s good to see you though.” Daniel nodded at Betty and Becks as Natalie took his elbow and steered him away from them.

Becks furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at Betty. “You weren’t kidding when you said things with Daniel are weird. I knew he’d changed but when I said I had changed too, I didn’t mean like _that._ Who is that woman with him, anyway?”

“Natalie? Yeah, she’s some woman he met at his grief support group. She’s his assistant now and they’re always together. I swear, no one can have a conversation with him without her there to interrupt and make all of his decisions for him.”

“You don’t like her, do you?”

“Not at all but if she’s helping him deal with Molly’s death, then I’m glad for him. It makes my life easier, honestly. He has her to rely on, which means less stress for me. And Matt moved on so I’m free as a bird.”

“Who’s Matt?”

“Oh, my ex-boyfriend and kind of my boss and also kind of jealous all the time. He’s the Managing Editor and here with a woman named Heather tonight.”

“By the way you were dancing, you seem like you were dealing well with it. If he’s here with someone else tonight and is a jealous guy anyway, then you’re better off without him. Like you said, you’re free now. Enjoy it.”

Betty gave him a shy half grin as she looked at him, “Thanks, Becks. It feels good to not have to deal with all of their drama, honestly. But it kind of ticks me off. I’ve been dealing with Daniel’s drama for years and I’ve always been there for him. He couldn’t be there for me tonight when I wasn’t sure if I could face Matt alone?”

“Whoa, whoa, Betty, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Remember that I’m just a beginner here in the Wonderful World of Suarez. Can you help me out with more of an explanation?”

“I’m sorry. A few days ago Matt told me he was bringing a date to this party and I kind of freaked out about it. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see him with someone else so I asked Daniel if he’d be my plus one so I’d at least have someone to help me face it, but he turned me down to take Natalie instead. Since then, he’s been shutting me out of his life. I just feel betrayed.”

“Well, Daniel was always good at making really boneheaded decisions. He should have been here for you, Betty. He just doesn’t have his head on straight right now. Are you really OK about the whole Matt thing?”

“Yeah, really I am. Though it would be nice to be able to really show him he’s not the only one who is moving on.”

“Which one is he, anyway? Is he the one with the spikey hair you were talking to earlier?”

“Yeah, I was talking to him right before I started dancing.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that you dancing by yourself earlier was a pretty good indication that you were fine without him. Anyone with eyes here saw how much fun you were having. Besides, I saw the way he was watching you. The look on his face definitely said he got the message. Though, if you really want to drive your point home, I’m happy to assist you in that.”

Betty raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “What did you have in mind?” She tried to not make a face when Becks started to chuckle at her.

“Nothing too crazy. Well, if you were interested in ditching the rest of this party and instead going out for a drink with me so we could properly catch up on everything since Petra-gate, we could at least make sure our exit made a statement to Matt.”

“That sounds great. What do I need to do?” Becks stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye as he looked very serious at her.

“Just follow my lead and my instructions exactly, OK?”

“OK, Becks. Whatever you say.”

Suddenly, Becks’ arms were around her waist and he was whispering gruffly in her ear “Put your arms around my neck and laugh like I just said something hilarious but also slightly risqué. When I pull away from you, playfully shove me just a little bit and then jokingly tell me to behave myself.”

Obediently, Betty wrapped her arms around his neck loosely and laughed. It helped that Becks chose that moment to subtly tickle her side so Betty found herself arching her body closer to his until she was pressed against him as she laughed. As Becks pulled back to look at her, she noticed that his arms stayed firmly wrapped around her waist. She playfully shoved him and told him to behave.

Not knowing what was supposed to come next she stifled her surprise as Becks bent toward her and said just loud enough to be heard by the people nearby, including Matt, “Why don’t we get out of here and you can make sure I behave for the rest of the night?” He winked just before he bent down and quickly planted a light kiss just below her ear. She managed a shy smile despite the bright crimson her cheeks were turning as she looked up to him and swallowed hard before replying.

“Sounds good to me.”

With a flash of his smile, Becks took her hand in his and led her across the dance floor toward the door, making sure that they happened to brush by Matt on the way out. She barely heard Matt say goodbye. She also didn’t notice Daniel on the other side of the room, watching her leave with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

 

Once in the elevator, Becks and Betty both burst out laughing, giving each other a high five and congratulating each other.

“Wow, Becks, you’re really good at stuff like that. I should bring you to parties more often.”

“Yeah, apparently I’m better than I thought I was. Why Betty Suarez, I do believe you’re blushing right now.”

“You just surprised me. I didn’t expect you to tickle me.” Betty crossed her arms again and moved a couple feet away from him, suddenly uncomfortable with the nearness of him.

Becks chuckled under his breath and looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous grin as he scooted closer to her and responded in a low growl, “Yep, I’m sure that’s all that surprised you. It’s OK, Betty, I don’t bite. At least I don’t for the first couple dates and only then if you’re really good.”

“God, get over yourself. Does that actually work on any women? Thank you for helping me get out of there with…uh, some flair, though. And anyway, a deal’s a deal. Where do you want to go?”

“I’ll save all of the naughty responses I could give you because I know you better than that, Betty. There’s a little place I like that’s a few blocks away where I don’t think we’ll run into Daniel or Matt or really anyone. It would be a good place for us to just sit and talk for a while.”

“What, Becks, are you embarrassed to be seen in public with me?”

“Hah. If I were embarrassed, then I wouldn’t have just done what we did upstairs. Do you really think there’s any way that that little stunt won’t get picked up by Suzuki? I wouldn’t have done something that conspicuous if I wanted to avoid being seen with you. I just meant we’d be going somewhere we won’t have any of those pesky outside distractions.”

Betty appeared mollified and they rode in silence until the doors opened at the ground floor.

The air outside was colder than Betty had anticipated and she silently regretted that she didn’t bring a coat with her. She was mentally telling herself not to shiver when wordlessly Becks settled his jacket over her shoulders.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense, I can’t have people thinking that the infamous Beckett Scott whisked Mode’s Features Editor out of a charity event with a romantic flourish only to let her freeze on the sidewalk during a two block walk.”

“Well, thank you. You’re very different than I remember you being.”

“Listen, Betty, if you think me giving you my jacket is monumental then I have to warn you that you’ll come to find pretty quickly that I am almost nothing like what you think I am.”

“Why do you do that?”

“What?”

“Call yourself ‘the infamous Beckett Scott’ or something else like that as if you’re a character in a movie or a comic book?”

“Well, I am, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re a person.”

“But the Beckett Scott everyone thinks they know is a character, Betty. He’s the guy who sleeps with models and drinks a lot and is the life of the party. He’s not real to anyone. Not even me. He’s just a figment that has been created in order for journalists to sell more copies and for people to feel better about their decisions. Hell, you even referred to me earlier tonight as ‘the famous Beckett Scott’ and reminded me of my reputation.” Becks felt slightly guilty that Betty cringed at his comment.

“Well, then I want to know the real Beckett Scott—if that’s even your real name.” Becks had to laugh at her remark.

“OK, well, if you’re serious about wanting to know the real Beckett Scott—and yes, that is my real name, thank you—then come with me.” Becks grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bar they standing in front of.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty or any of the characters.

“Scotty!”

“GUS! You old fart, how are you?!” Becks dropped Betty’s hand immediately and walked up to a portly man in his late 60’s, whose name was apparently Gus, and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Old fart, huh, Scotty? Yeah, I guess I kind of am but you better watch out because pretty soon you’ll be joining me in the old fart club, young man.” Gus jokingly pointed an accusing finger in Becks’ face.

“Yeah, I know. Soon enough, soon enough. But you’ll still be my favorite old fart, Gus, even if you are still an ugly ass.” Becks and Gus started laughing together clearly at an inside joke Betty was on the outside of.

“Scotty, you’re being rude. First you don’t warn me that you’re coming into town and now you haven’t even introduced me to your guest.” Gus walked over to Betty, looking expectantly to Becks for an introduction.

“Sorry, Gus this is my good friend, Miss Betty Suarez. She’s a Features Editor for Mode magazine and one of the most intelligent, sincerely good women I’ve ever met. Betty, this is Gus McClum. He lived next door to my family when I was a kid and is like a surrogate father to me. He also has one of the ugliest mugs you’ll ever see but a heart of gold.” Betty reached out to shake Gus’s hand but instead he pulled her into a bear hug.

“Sorry, Miss Suarez, but I’m a hugger. I think you are too, though.” Gus beamed down at her as he released her, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and turned to look back at Becks. “Scotty, how did you get such a beautiful woman to voluntarily stand near you, especially in public? I mean, I thought Alycia was pretty but she was dull and looked like she needed to eat a sandwich. I’m glad to see you’ve moved on to a woman who actually looks like a woman and has a brain.” Gus winked at her quickly before adding with a serious look to her, “Now, if Scotty misbehaves or gives you trouble, you let me know. I’ll take care of him because I’ll be damned if I didn’t raise a good man with manners, even if he does drink like a fish.”

“Thanks, Gus. I’ll keep that in mind. And you’re right; I am a hugger. Everyone in my family hugs hello, goodbye, good afternoon and pretty much for every other thing.”

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a solid family of good people then. Scotty, I love her already. Marry her quick, before her father realizes what an ugly scoundrel you are.” Maybe it was the dark lighting but Betty could have sworn she saw a blush creep up Becks’ neck and on to his cheeks.

“Gus, we’re friends. Besides, Betty already knows she’s much too good for the likes of me, even if I have gotten better with age.”

“Yep, just like a good whiskey. Too bad you look like you’re still stuck in the oak barrel. Speaking of which, can I get you kids a bite and a drink?”

“Yes, thanks Gus. We just came from a fashion charity event where I swear the only food available was celery sticks and alcohol. I could use some food. How about you, Betty.”

Letting out a sigh and a slight groan, Betty sat down on a bar stool, relieved, “thank god you asked. I’m starving. You would think that a charity event to benefit children and make sure they have necessities like food would actually have food at it, even if it is a fashion event.”

“How does a fashion charity event work? I mean, do they make the charity fashionable? Dress it up nice or something? Scotty, I’ll never quite understand the fashion stuff you do. I love your pictures but the fashion stuff still confuses me.”

“Gus, to be honest, it still confuses me most days.”

“So what’ll you two have? I can get some house specials going for you. Want some warm drinks to help you brush off the cold? Scotty, where are your manners? You get you two over by the fireplace and warm up before the poor woman catches something.”

“OK, OK, Gus. Yeah, give me some of your spiced rum and cider. Betty, what do you want?”

“That sounds good. Just give me the same.”

“Right-o. Coming right up for you. Make yourselves at home and I’ll bring the drinks right out for you with some snacks to hold you over until you’re food’s ready. How’s Gwenn, by the way?”

“Thanks Gus. Last time we talked, Gwenn was doing great. I’m going to see her tomorrow. I haven’t been very good about getting back to see her the past few months so I’m going to make it up to her. Last I heard though, her classes were going well. She’s a hell of a woman.”

“She is. I think you have a bit to do with that, though. Though she adores you more than she should and god only knows why. She’d probably walk to the end of the earth for you, god help her.”

“Well, I’d do the same for her.”

Gus disappeared into the kitchen while Betty and Becks walked over and sat at a table next to the fireplace at the back of the bar. Betty admired the warm wood trim around the room and how this felt like a place where you went when you wanted to feel like you’d come home. It felt warm and welcoming, like anyone here would treat you like family and give you the shirt of their back. The photographs on the wall were beautiful and brilliant and Betty also noticed a couple of them were familiar. In fact, one looked like a replica of a shot they featured in Mode about four months ago and another looked like a shot she had seen in National Geographic.

“Wow, Gus has amazing taste in photography. In fact some of these look like things we’d feature at Mode and that I’ve even seen in other magazines. Did you help pick them out or something?” Betty looked over to Becks, trying to gauge his reaction.

“You could say that. They’re all mine. Every one that has been published Gus has a framed copy of it but several of these are ones that I wouldn’t sell to a magazine because Gus was so attached to them that I couldn’t stand to have them anywhere else.”

“Wow, Becks, your work is amazing. I’ve mostly only seen your fashion shoots but these are breathtaking. I never knew your talent was so…eclectic.”

“Eclectic? You mean refined, I guess. Yeah, it’s easier for people to believe that I just shoot models in expensive gowns or half naked all the time and I have done a lot of that because frankly, it pays the rent, but I’ve done a lot of other work throughout the years. That’s what happens when you’re a freelancer—you end up doing a variety of things.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound insulting. It came out wrong.”

“Betty, you don’t need to apologize. I know you were genuinely trying to give me a compliment. It’s just kind of adorable to watch you squirm sometimes.”

Betty felt herself blushing as she looked down at her hands on the table. She looked back up into Becks’ smiling face and any thoughts that were in her head were erased. The silence was becoming awkwardly long when Gus set their drinks in front of them.

“Here you go, my children. Some hot spiced rum cider with cinnamon to warm you up head to toe and some fresh, warm bread for you to enjoy while Chuckie and I prepare your food.”

Once Gus was out of earshot again, Betty found herself anxiously alternating between sipping her drink and chewing on her bottom lip, wondering how to get at all of the questions racing through her mind.

“OK, spill it. What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Betty Suarez, you know what I mean. You obviously want to say something and it’s killing you not to. You’re terrible at hiding things, you know.” Becks set down his drink, his face looking more grave by the second as he held her gaze, “Betty, you said you wanted to know the real Beckett Scott and I agreed. Whatever questions or comments you have, just say them. You won’t hurt my feelings. The tabloids have undoubtedly said or asked worse things about me at more formative times in my life.”

Before Betty could stop herself, it all came tumbling out. “This is all really confusing, Becks. I mean, first of all ‘Scotty’? Where did that come from? So is Beckett not really your name? And Gus is your surrogate Dad? Where’s your father? But more importantly, is it even OK that I’m here? Will Gwenn be OK with it?”

“Wait, what? Hold on, let me start with the first part. ‘Scotty’ is a nickname for me that Gus came up with when I was a kid. Come on, Betty, no one was named Beckett after 1750. I hated the name and my last name is Scott so to make me feel better, Gus started calling me Scotty. It caught on and pretty much everyone called me that when I was growing up. Gus means a lot to me and took the role of my sage male advice giver when my Dad left right after my sister was born. My father died when I was 24. I got a letter about it after it happened, which was fine by me since I hadn’t seen him since he left when I was 12. But why would it not be OK for you to be here? Gwenn, while protective over me, wouldn’t care. I’m a big boy.”

“Really? Gwenn, who adores you, wouldn’t care? Gwenn, who you claim to be so devoted to, wouldn’t care? What about Alycia?”

“I really don’t understand why Alycia would care. We broke up months ago when I found out that she was practically engaged and neglected to tell me that.”

“How did Gwenn feel about that?”

“She was devastated for me.”

“I’m sure she was.”

“What are you implying?”

“That apparently you haven’t changed, Becks. Clearly Gwenn, your very adoring, devoted girlfriend was devastated that you were cheating on her with Alycia and god knows how many other women while she’s back here, waiting for you. God, was I supposed to be the next one? Well, that isn’t happening.”

Becks sat in slack jawed silence for a few seconds before he broke into a fit of laughter that he seemed unable to control.

“What are you laughing at?” Betty huffed as she crossed her arms.

“You. My god, Betty, you’re hilarious when you think you’re being such a good detective. Man, you really must think that I’m a creep if you think I’m dating my sister.”

“What?”

“Gwenn, while very wonderful and beautiful and smart, is my baby sister. Well, she’s not a baby anymore—she’s 21. And even though she’s very protective of her older brother and sometimes judgmental of the romantic decisions I make and the women I date, she would not have an issue with me being here with you tonight. In fact, I think she’d want to be friends with you if she met you.”

“Gwenn is your sister?” Betty could barely manage her words over her deep embarrassment that was replacing her seething anger.

“Yes. My very wonderful, devoted, adoring sister.”

“Wait, you said she’s 21? How is that possible? You said you were 12 when your father left and that he left when she was a baby. Did he really leave when she was 4 or something?”

“No, he left when she wasn’t even a year old.”

“Then how is Gwenn only 21? You’re 36. That’s more than 12 years’ difference.”

“No, Betty, _Daniel_ is 36. I’m only 33. I graduated from high school a year early and from college a year early but even with that, Daniel was still one year ahead of me at Harvard.”

“Oh, I guess there are a lot more things that I don’t know about you than I thought.”

“There are and maybe if you don’t accuse me of incest again, I can tell you more of them. We might even be able to get Gus to help once the food is ready.”

Betty smiled down into her mug of cider and blushed. “I think I would like that. Maybe then we could even be friends.”

“I think that would be great.” Becks smiled back at her and patted her hand. Just then, Gus came out with their food.

After convincing Gus to join them with a pint of beer, Becks and Gus started telling her the stories of Becks growing up, living with his Aunt and his sister with Gus next door, trying to help him through his teenage years and college. Some of them were funny and some of them were more serious. Becks sprinkled in stories from his travels and shoots over the years. When Becks excused himself to find the washroom, Betty turned to Gus to ask the question she couldn’t bring herself to ask Becks.

“Gus, Becks told me that his father left when Gwenn was a baby but what happened to his mother? I didn’t want to ask him in case it might ruin the night for him.”

“Ah, yes. Scotty doesn’t like to talk about it much. She passed away about a year after his father left. She was in a bad car crash coming home from work one day. Poor kid refused to learn how to drive after that until Gwenn and I finally convinced him when he was nearly 20. To this day, though, he hates cars.”

“Wow, I didn’t know.”

“Nah, no one would. He doesn’t like to talk about it much. After his father left, Scotty knew he would have to be there for Gwenn more but when Karen—his mother—was killed, Scotty was all that was left for Gwenn. He did everything he could to help her and be a good brother and even father to her in some ways.”

“It sounds like you helped a lot too. You’re really important to him, even I can tell that and I just met you.”

“Scotty was always a good kid. He just got handed a shit reality to deal with when he was too young to really know how but he’s done a good job of it. He’s made his fair share of mistakes but none of them are as bad as people make it out to be. I’m glad he has someone like you in his life, though. You appear to me, Betty, to be a woman who knows how to handle what life throws at her.”

“Thanks, Gus. I don’t always but sometimes I manage to get it right.”

Betty and Gus turned their attention to Becks’ photographs while they waited for his return, welcoming the lighter subject. A while after Becks rejoined them, they realized that they’d been there for almost four hours, which meant closing time for Gus.

Gus turned to Betty first and wrapped her in a tight hug, “Alright, Miss Betty, I’m glad to have met you. You come back and see Ole Gus here again soon and whenever you like as much as you like, even if Scotty isn’t with you. Someone needs to keep an old man like me company. But remember what I told you, if Scotty misbehaves, you let me know and I’ll remind him of what I taught him.”

“Thanks Gus, I really enjoyed meeting you. Thank you for everything. I hope I see you again soon.” Gus gave her a quick peck on the cheek before he turned to Becks for a goodbye hug.

“Scotty, m’boy, I love you. Stay out of trouble and you be sure to bring Miss Betty back here next time you’re in town and make sure it’s not too long from now. Remember what I said though: marry her before her father realizes what an ugly scoundrel you are.”

“Thanks, Gus. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll see you later. Thank you for having us and have a great night.”

Becks held the door for Betty as they left. They stepped out into a cold rain. Becks wordlessly slipped his jacket around Betty’s shoulders and offered her his arm.

“So, Betty, should I see you home?”

“Sure, but you don’t have to. I’m sure you’d like to get back to your hotel or wherever you’re staying. Wait, where _are_ you staying?”

“Oh, I actually have an apartment. I didn’t for a long time because I would stay at my Aunt’s or, once I started getting more steady work, most places would put me up at a hotel when I was in town. About a year ago I decided to get an apartment in the city but I sublet it out most of the time since I’m gone so much. My subletter moved out though so I’m staying there.”

“Wow, that sounds…complicated.”

“It kind of is. I’m thinking of getting rid of it or seeing if my sister wants to move in there since she’s graduating from school soon. Well, that is if she wants to stay in New York.”

“Well, if you get rid of it, you can feel free to crash at my place if you ever need to stay somewhere.”

“Thanks for the offer.”

“Hey, I still owe you from Fashion Week, right?”

Becks stopped in his tracks and looked over at Betty, “You know you don’t owe me anything, right? Betty, I know you’re a nice person and you feel like you owe people something when they do anything for you but I really don’t need you to pay me back in any way. Let’s just consider Fashion Week something that friends do for one another.”

“Becks, I know. Like you said, it’s something that friends do for each other. Now that we’re friends, that also means that letting you stay at my apartment when you need someplace to crash is something friends do for each other, too. I was just kidding about owing you for Fashion Week, I promise. There’s no need for you to be so serious.”

_Why did that bother him so much? It was just a well intentioned offer. Becks certainly can be touchy sometimes._

“Sorry, yeah. I just didn’t want you to think I’m the type of person who keeps score like that. So, I’m taking you home, right?” Becks quickly changed the subject, recognizing that he had officially made the last one unnecessarily awkward.

“Sure, though we should probably take the subway or a cab.”

“No problem. Leave it to me.” Becks stepped out to the curb, hailing a cab and then holding the door open for her.

When she gave her address to the cab driver, they realized that his apartment wasn’t that far from hers.

“It’s actually probably good that we took a cab because before now I had no clue where you lived. We could have been walking around forever.”

“Nah, I would have made sure we went the right way. I know my way around New York, you know.” Betty smiled at Becks’ embarrassment.

They sat in a comfortable silence until they pulled up in front of her building. Becks paid the driver as they slipped out.

“Here, I’ll walk you to your door. I’m just going to walk the rest of the way to my apartment from here, anyway.”

“OK.”

Betty let them in the front door and led the way up the stairs to her apartment door. At that point she turned to face Becks. She remembered that she was still wearing his jacket and slipped it off to hand it back. “Thanks for tonight. I’m sorry of how much of a jerk I sounded like a few times there. You really are a nice guy and I’m glad that you let me get to know you better. I hope we can be friends from now on.”

“Hey, I had a great time, too. And don’t worry about it; I remember saying and doing some pretty bad stuff to you too. I would be a hypocrite if I were mad at you for doing the same thing. But I do have one question for you.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Well, I’m seeing Gwenn tomorrow morning but I thought maybe you’d want to join us for a while? Maybe come with me to Columbia to meet up with her, get some lunch, stuff like that.”

“I’d really like that, Becks, but I don’t want to intrude on your time with your sister. With how much you travel, you can’t get to see her much.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding because I’m inviting you and I know you two would get along great. Actually, you’d be doing me a favor because since my Aunt passed away, Gwenn could really use another woman in her life, especially since I am gone so much, and I think you would really enjoy each other. So please come with us?”

“Sure, I’d love to. When and where?”

“I’ll just stop by and get you tomorrow morning around 9am. Does that work?”

“Sure, I’ll see you then. Thanks again for everything tonight, Becks.” Becks quickly stepped forward and pulled Betty into a lingering hug. As he stepped away, a slight blush crept up his neck.

“Good night, Betty. See you in the morning.”

“Good night, Becks. Be safe going home.”

Betty unlocked her door and then turned to watch Becks walk down the stairs, wondering what she just agreed to do, exactly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty or its characters. Please don't sue.

_And there’s the knock on the door. OK, just answer it and stop fidgeting. So what if you’re going with him to see his sister, which is probably a bit odd. You’re just friends and you heard him, she just needs more female friends. It’s fine. It doesn’t mean anything other than that he thinks you’ll like each other and that he wants to be friends with you. He probably just wants someone to be there to support her if she needs anything while he’s out of town. He’s just being a good brother. Stop overanalyzing._

“I’ll be right there!” Betty shouted, spitting toothpaste into the bathroom sink and trying to find her way to the door.

_OK, she’s going to answer the door any second. Stop fidgeting. Why are my palms sweating? This is ridiculous. It’s Betty and you’re just friends. She has no interest in you. She just came along today because she probably just thinks your sister needs more friends. She’s just trying to be a good friend to you. It’s nothing more. Why did I invite her, though? Having Betty meet my sister is a little odd, I guess. But the way it felt to kiss her last night at the party was just as odd._

_Why am I so drawn to her? OK, stop thinking about it. She’s a friend and she works for Daniel. You’re going to be gone again in a few days so you can’t think like this. She deserves a lot better than you and that lifestyle. What, would I just have her wait for me all the time? No, she deserves something better than that. We’re just friends, Beckett. Just friends._

Becks jumped slightly as he heard the lock on the door slide back and saw Betty as the door opened.

“Hey, sorry that took me a moment. I was just finishing getting ready. Want to come in? Oh, you brought coffee! That was really thoughtful of you. Thanks. Why don’t you come in for a second while I find my coat and keys.” Betty accepted the coffee that Becks held out to her, grateful for it since she didn’t seem to sleep much last night.

“Well, consider me your veritable Coffee Elf. I figured that after I kept you out so late last night and demanded you be awake early in the morning, I should at least bring you caffeine to help sustain you.” Becks stepped into her apartment, instantly feeling at home. While it was a tiny space, the bright colors and decorations made it cozy and warm. He could imagine Betty sitting at the table typing on her computer or curled up on the couch, reading a book, maybe even him sitting next to her, one arm around her.

_Get your thoughts under control, Beckett. That will never happen. Betty would never go for you and Daniel would kill you if you even dreamt of doing anything like that. Though, where’s Daniel now if that’s the case?_

Betty walking toward him, wearing a plum colored coat and a white knit hat shook him from his thoughts. He looked over at her and smiled warmly, trying to focus on their day.

“OK, I’m ready to go. Sorry to keep you waiting for a moment there. We’d probably best get going so we’re not late to meet Gwenn, right?” Betty cheerfully bounced past him and through the door. As he stepped out into the hallway she stopped to lock it behind him.

They chatted as they made their way to the subway and took it over to Columbia. Betty was surprised how quickly she and Becks had fallen into a rhythm with each other. She hadn’t felt this comfortable with someone so quickly since when she and Daniel had first become friends.

They stepped into a small coffee shop where a woman with long dark hair looked up excitedly at the sight of Becks.

“Heeeeey, Beeeeeecker!!” She jumped up from the table and rushed over to them, throwing her arms around Becks. He picked her up off the ground for a few moments and then put her back down.

“I wish you’d call me something other than that. Calling me ‘Becker’ was funny when you were little but now I think people mistake what you’re saying.” Becks wagged his finger at Gwenn in jest as she laughed.

“Whatever, I’ll call you Becker till I’m old and grey and you will never stop me, partially because you can’t say no to your darling baby sister and we both know it.”

“Too true. But you never ask me for anything too ridiculous so at least you don’t abuse your insane powers.” They both laughed at that again until Gwenn turned toward Betty and, stepping up to her, threw her arms around Betty’s shoulders.

“You must be Betty! Becker here told me about you. I’m glad you’re joining us today. Anyone who Becker is actually willing to introduce me to must be one hell of a friend. Even Gus called this morning to rave about how wonderful you are. I have no idea what you’ve said to my favorite men to cause this but you can certainly sit by me.”

“I’m glad to meet you. I feel like I’ve heard all about you from Becks. Your brother certainly glows when he talks about you. I didn’t realize that Becks had mentioned me though.”

Becks ran a hand through his hair nervously, “I, uh, called Gwenn last night on my way home to let her know you’d be joining us and told her a little bit about you and how I wanted you two to meet because I thought you’d really hit it off.”

“That makes sense. Well, I appreciate that you’re letting me horn in on your day together.”

“No, Betty, you aren’t horning in at all. Any friend of my brother’s is a friend of mine. Speaking of which, how is Daniel lately? I haven’t seen him in forever.” Gwenn glanced back and forth between Betty and Becks as they exchanged a knowing look.

“Weird. That’s how he is. There’s something odd happening with him since his wife died. He’ll figure it out eventually but for now, let’s just say that Daniel’s not really himself.” Becks offered the explanation, which seemed to satisfy Gwenn momentarily, even though Betty could tell that she wanted to ask more questions. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to show us around this place? Why are we still standing in the middle of a coffee shop?”

“Yep, good point. I’ll grab my jacket and we can go.”

A few minutes after leaving the coffee shop, they found themselves wandering around Columbia’s campus as Gwenn pointed out different buildings and gave them the history of each. Becks stopped to take some pictures as they walked, sometimes wandering away to get a better shot. Gwenn and Betty would idly chat with each other about Gwenn’s classes, Betty’s job and everything else in between. Betty was careful to try to avoid the subject of Becks until Gwenn finally brought it up while Becks was eagerly trying to snap shots of the campus library.

“So you and Becker have become friends recently, I guess. I would have heard about you earlier otherwise.”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve known Becks for a while since he does free lance work for Mode but we really just got to know each other beyond what we’d heard about each other, I guess.”

“I figured. I know Becker’s reputation. I would have to live under a rock not to, I guess. I think he hates it even though some of the things he did in the past helped him earn it. But even then, he was never as evil or shallow as people made him out to be.”

“I can’t imagine he could be when the two of you are so close. It just doesn’t add up.”

“He had his party days though. He still does, but he’s more forthright than people want to believe. But ever since sometime last year, he’s even been more subdued than before.”

“Really? What happened?”

Gwenn sighed and looked away from Betty’s face before she continued, “I found out my boyfriend of 3 years had been cheating on me with several other women for almost the entirety of our relationship. I was devastated. Becker was furious. Since then I’ve noticed I read less about his escapades on page six and I hear less women’s names overall, though I haven’t heard anything about anyone since he and Alycia split. Well, that is, until he called me last night about you.”

“I had no idea. I’m sorry to hear that you had someone hurt you like that. I’ve been cheated on before and I know it hurts but it says more about them than it does about you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the thought and I agree. I’m fine now. For a few months, though, I was kind of a wreck. I was worried that Becker was going to quit his job and take up permanent residency in New York but luckily, my brother knows that I’m an adult and don’t need my big brother to come protect me from the evils of men and the world.”

“Sounds like you two are really lucky to have each other. It’s really odd in a way to hear someone talk about Becks like you do and the way Gus did last night. I was so used to hearing Daniel’s stories about him and then Becks’ jokes whenever he was around but it’s clear there’s a lot more to him than anyone would suspect.”

“We are lucky to have each other. And I think he’s lucky to have you now, too. I like you already.”

“Gwenn, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Your brother and I are friends but that’s all. We’re just getting to know each other better, really.”

“I know.   Don’t worry; I’m not planning your wedding or anything. I’m just glad that he has a good friend like you.”

The rest of the morning they spent with Gwenn telling them about how her job search was going since she would be graduating in December. When she talked about moving out of her apartment due to roommate problems, Becks offered his apartment and she gratefully agreed.

In the early afternoon, Betty and Becks said goodbye to Gwenn and took the subway back to her neighborhood. Becks walked Betty up to her door and stopped to face her so they could talk for a few minutes.

“Thanks for letting me tag along today. I had a good time meeting Gwenn.”

“I’m glad you came along. I hope you two become friends. She could use someone like you in her life more. I just hope that she and Gus didn’t say anything strange.”

“You mean like Gus’s marriage comment? No, I get that all the time.” Betty rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I swear I’ve never given either of them that impression. We’re just friends and I hope that despite that hiccup, we can keep being friends and actually keep in touch with each other while I’m on the road, even?” Becks flinched a bit anxiously as he asked the question, hoping that Betty wouldn’t scoff at the idea.

“I’d like that. Hearing about your work from you and Gus last night was really interesting. I’d like to hear more about it maybe actually when it’s happening. So we’re friends. Keep in touch. Maybe even come say hi when you’re in town or let me know if you need a place to stay, though since your sister sounded interested in taking over your apartment that probably won’t be necessary. But you know what I mean.” Becks and Betty both chuckled at how awkward that had sounded.

“I think I do, yes. So I guess I should say I’ll give you a call or an e-mail or maybe even Skype you. But since I probably won’t see you before I leave the city, I’ll go ahead and say goodbye to you for the time being.” Becks wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a long hug. As Betty wrapped her arms around his neck, she tried to keep herself from focusing on his breath against her ear and her neck as he whispered, “I’ll talk to you soon, Miss Suarez. Until then, watch out for yourself, OK?” She felt his lips quickly brush against the side of her head before he pulled away from her.

“Thanks. Keep yourself safe, OK?”

“I will. I promise.”

Becks turned and started walking down the street, wondering to himself why his hands were still trembling just a little bit as he walked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm going to be experimenting with some different ways of moving the plot/dialogue/communication throughout the coming chapters. Some of them are inspired by what I've seen others do. I will undoubtedly be more clumsy with these devices than they are, however. Please be patient with me.
> 
> Disclaimer: I still don't own Ugly Betty or its characters. No suing, please.

Hearing the incessant ringing of his phone, Becks groaned and rolled over. Seeing Betty’s name on the screen he answered despite the time.

“Betty, honey, you know I love talking to you but really, it’s 3am in Tanzania and I have an early shoot. Wait, what’s wrong? Are you sniffling? Have you been crying?”

“Becks, it’s Daniel. I’m really worried about him. I think he’s in a cult and that Bennett guy is the leader.”

“Betty, slow down. What are you talking about? Why do you think Daniel is in a cult?”

“You know how I told you the Order of the Phoenix people were in the office now, at every meeting with Daniel, especially that Bennett guy?”

“Yes. It sounded weird. So what happened?”

“Well, Matt told Claire and I that a while back he encountered a guy named Bennett who we think is the same person as this Bennett and he was running a group that turned out to be a cult where they gave people hallucinogens, promising them that they’d be reunited with their dead relatives. Becks, someone DIED from this stuff. Now they might be doing the same thing to Daniel.”

“Yeah, this sounds serious. How can I help?”

“Other than getting ahold of Daniel and talking some sense into him, I don’t know. We just have to figure out how to get him away from them. Claire and I are trying to figure out how to do that.”

“Well, I can try to see if Daniel will take my calls but I doubt it. I’d offer to get on the first flight there but I probably wouldn’t even get there in time to be helpful to you. You’re a smart, resourceful woman, though. If there was ever someone I would want fighting for me, it would be you, Betty.”

“It’s OK, Becks, I feel better just talking to you about it. Talking to you always helps. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I didn’t get to talk to you. I’m sorry I woke you up, though. I wasn’t thinking about the time there. I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

Becks couldn’t stop from smiling into the phone when he heard that, “Nah, it’s OK. I’m awake now anyway after thinking about how long it might take me to fly back there. You can tell me what else is happening with you or fill me in more on what I might say to get Daniel to listen to me. OK?”

Betty smiled into her phone, despite the fact that she knew she was supposed to be worrying about Daniel’s safety right then, “Yeah, OK, Becks. There’s not much to tell you though. Your guess would be as good as mine about what to say to Daniel. Maybe once we get past this we can talk about the fearless swimsuit issue. I guess the shoot is happening in the Bahamas, though I don’t think I’ll be asked to go.”

“I already know about it. Willhemina called me to ask if I could come out for the shoot and be one of the photographers for it. I told her I’d let her know in the next week.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was hoping you’d be going on it, though. It’d be a lot more enjoyable with you there.   I think I’m starting to get old or something because I don’t find stuff like that as much fun anymore.”

“As much as it’d be great to see you and I think we would have a good time, I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s going to be essential staff only I’m sure and I’m not essential.”

“Well, that’s up for debate but it still sucks.”

“Hey Becks, I’m really sorry but Claire is on the other line and she probably wants to talk about the plan to rescue Daniel. I really should talk to her.”

“Don’t apologize. Go talk to Claire. Tell her I say hi and good luck.”

“Can you try calling Daniel and let me know how it goes?”

“Not a problem. And hey Betty?

“Yeah?

“It was nice to hear your voice even if it is at 3am. Now go talk to Claire and I’ll call Daniel.”

“Thanks Becks. Miss you.”

“Me too. Later, Betty.”

Becks hung up the call and then quickly found Daniel’s number and listened to it ring.

 

 

A couple weeks later, Becks awoke to his phone ringing again. The picture Betty had sent him flashed on the screen of his phone so he answered.

“Betty, again with the middle of the night. Honey, I know this can’t be about Daniel and the cult because that’s done. Remember? We had champagne together via Skype for it.”

“I know. It’s not about that.”

“What is it, then?”

“Ugh, it feels so childish to say.”

“Try me. I’ve done and said a lot of childish things in my life, Betty.”

“I was looking at the roster for the Bahamas shoot and saw Amanda’s name on it. She’s going to the Bahamas and I just know it was Matt’s idea. On top of it, Willhemina told me that I have to be on the Bahamas shoot because Marc is going but he’s taking a vacation instead while he’s there. So now I have to be there, watching them together.”

Becks sat up in his bed and let out a disappointed sigh. “Why does it matter?”

“Because, Becks, it’s Amanda and it’s Matt.”

“Is it that you want him back?”

“No. I hated dealing with his mother who hated me and I still have to deal with his Dad since he’s a part owner of Meade but I’m glad to know that it’s not like I have to see him at any major holiday. Matt was always so jealous anyway—he always accused me of being with someone else or wanting to be no matter how I tried to reassure him. Being with him was exhausting. It’s nice to not feel so tired all of the time from my relationship.”

“That makes sense but I have to ask this: Betty, are you really over him?”

“Yes, I am. It’s just…” he could hear her mumbling something incoherently to herself.

“It’s just what, Betty?”

“It’s just that he’s my boss and my ex-boyfriend which is already weird. But Amanda, she was my roommate and I thought we were friends even though we didn’t really like each other before. I have to work with both of them and it’s weird. I mean, she still lives across the hall from me.”

“Yeah, and they both have to work with you, Betty. It’s awkward for all of you. As much as it pains me to say this, Betty, you have to think about this from their perspectives. Amanda is probably worried she’s hurting her friend but she can’t help it if she has feelings for her friend’s former boyfriend, Betty.”

“That’s true. See? I told you this was childish and I was right.”

“It’s not childish. You’re just trying to figure out how to deal with a situation that would be difficult for anyone to handle. Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to do it all alone.”

“Yeah, try telling me that when I’m in the Bahamas, watching them make out.”

“I will because you obviously didn’t read the entire roster for the shoot.”

“Oh? What or who did I miss?” Becks could tell she was smiling and blushing on her end.

“Well, one Mr. Beckett Scott, photographer extraordinaire, happens to be contracted for the Mode Fearless swimsuit photo shoot in the Bahamas. So as much as you wallowing by yourself might be fun, you’ll have to at least leave some time to talk to me or maybe come out for a drink. You can’t leave me alone for the entire shoot.” Becks left out that one of the conditions to Wilhelmina of him doing the shoot was that Betty be added to the roster of staff going.

“I think I can find time for you in the Bahamas, Mr. Scott. Until then, what are you working on?”

“Finishing up this shoot in Prague for a travel magazine. The city is beautiful so I’m going to have a lot of amazing shots. I’ll show you some when I see you. Once it’s done I’ll be packing my bags and heading straight to the Bahamas and will expect you to keep a seat open for me on the beach, OK?”

“Of course. I’m happy to make that happen.”

“Thanks, Betty; you’re the best. But hey, I really do need to get some sleep. Are you feeling any better?”

“I am, Becks. Thank you.”

“Are you sure or are you only saying you feel better because you feel bad that I’m tired?”

“No, I mean it, Becks. You know that talking to you always makes me feel better when I’m upset. I’m just sorry that I forgot what time it is where you are.”

“Betty, don’t worry about it. As much as I put up a fuss, I like hearing from you no matter what time it is. I’m just glad you’re feeling better now. So I’ll see you in the Bahamas?”

“Yes.”

“Promise me that when I see you, you’ll smile at least once so I know that you’re at least somewhat happy to see me?”

“Yes, I promise. You know I will be happy to see you. I miss you.”

“Me too. Good night, Miss Suarez.”

“Good night, Becks. Sweet dreams.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own anything, please don't sue. You know the drill.

Betty felt herself falling backwards, toppling over two men lying in lounge chairs.

“Oh god, I’m so sor—“

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this, Betty,” she heard the man whose lap she fell into say. She felt her words dissolve in the back of her throat as she looked into the clear blue eyes of one Beckett Scott, whose finger was held up against her lips to silence her. He cradled her in his arms and smiled down at her. After staring at him for a few seconds too long, she shook herself from her trance, realizing where she was sitting.

“Becks!” Betty shrieked and threw her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest. She could not remember being so happy to see someone.

“Hey bud, do you mind moving somewhere else? We’ll catch up later,” Becks asked the man sitting next to him.

“No problem, Becks. Good seeing you. Have a great night. And you, ma’am.”

“Thanks, Jeremy. Say hi to the Missus for me. Maybe we can all catch dinner tomorrow? For now, Miss Betty is going to take your seat.”

Jeremy picked up his drink and walked away. As soon as he got up, Becks, still holding Betty across his lap in his arms, sat up, swung her over and seated her on the lounge chair next to him.

“Thanks, Becks. You know that guy?”

“Jeremy? Yeah, we go way back. He’s another photojournalist. We met in Egypt years ago while shooting protests there. He’s a great guy—we see each other pretty regularly when we pick up work in the same areas. He’s here this week on vacation. His three girls are adorable. They are the light of my life most days.”

“Three girls? Oh, I see. Back to your old ways.” Betty took a sip of her drink, waggling her eyebrows at him, meaningfully.

Becks chuckled and rolled his eyes. “No. I mean his three daughters. His middle one, Jeana, is my Goddaughter. She’s six now and might as well be one of my own. Last time I talked to him, he mentioned he was going to be in the Bahamas with his family. When I knew I would be here for a Mode shoot I let him know I would be in the same area as him, hoping we could meet up. He stopped over for part of the party to catch up for a few while his wife is out with some other people. He’s a great guy and gives great advice. I haven’t seen him since I spent Christmas at his house. I really love hanging out with him and his family, even though I have to say that I find myself a bit jealous of what he has.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know—kids, house, someone who loves him every day. When he comes home from a trip he has people who are excited to see him and want to know what he did. I only have a bottle of Jameson. It’s not quite the same.”

“Well, you have me, when you call. I like to hear about your shoots.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I like our calls. I like hearing about what you’re doing and I love how excited you get to hear about my latest gig. Whenever you tell me about your family, I wish I could come for Sunday dinner so I could joke with Ignacio and teach Justin how to set up the perfect photo shoot. I bet he’d love that.”

“Yeah, I bet he would. He’s on his way to being Mode’s youngest stylist. Maybe he could be their youngest photographer, too.”

“I’m sure between the two of us, he’ll be all of those.”

“Well, you’d definitely teach him photography skills but I don’t think I’m teaching him anything about fashion. It’s really the other way around. So you’re someone’s Godfather?”

“You’re KIDDING me, right?! _That’s_ what you got out of all of this? That I’m Jeana’s Godfather?”

“It’s just a bit of a different role than what I would think of you as.”

“God, how much have you had to drink, Betty?”

Betty started laughing, realizing how she must have sounded to Becks just then.

“Sorry, you know I was just surprised. I’ve heard and known you’ve changed a lot since I first met you at Fashion Week but it’s still so odd to hear you talk like this. But more than that, I knew you said when we talked on Sunday that you’d be here. I just didn’t know when. I was starting to wonder if maybe I had imagined seeing your name on the roster. I’m glad you’re here now though. It’s making my night so much better” Betty gulped down the rest of her drink so she wouldn’t say anything else and cast a side glance at Becks. She realized her cheeks were turning a dark crimson.

“Yeah, I got delayed getting out of Prague at my last shoot so I just got in today. I’m sorry I didn’t let you know about the delay; my phone has been dead for a couple days and I didn’t have a charger. The only reason Wilhelmina knew anything was because the director of the last shoot got in touch with her for me. But I’m here now. You have no idea how happy I am to actually see you. I was hoping you’d be happy to see me. I uh…I kind of miss you, you know.”

“Hah! You missed me, sure. Of course I’m happy to see you! Everything is so, I don’t know, turned upside down.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I did something dumb that I shouldn’t have today and now I realize it complicated things.”

“You mean racing Amanda down the water slide for Matt?”

Betty planted her face in her free hand, shaking it and wondering why she had been so dumb.

“How do you know about that?” Betty asked through her fingers.

“I talked to Marc.”

“How does he…wait. Don’t answer that. I already know. God, that was dumb.”

“Did you mean it?”

“What?”

“Did you really want him back? Are you over him?”

“Becks, you know I’m over him. Remember our phone call last week? I told you how much better I felt, knowing that I didn’t have to constantly worry about his mother hating me or him being upset at me every time I talked to someone who wasn’t him. Do you even remember seeing me at Wilhelmina’s party? You were the one who reminded me that I was better off without him.”

“I know I was and I stand by that. So you’re over him completely without regrets?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you do it, Betty?” Becks asked gently, reaching over and taking Betty’s hand in his.

“I don’t know. I don’t actually want Matt back. It’s just been a while since I felt like someone wanted me.” Betty stared down at their entwined fingers in her lap so she didn’t have to look him in the eye. She set down her now empty glass so she could anxiously swipe at a lone tear that had begun sliding down her cheek.

“What are you even talking about?” Becks started with an incredulous tone. “Just because you don’t have some asshole taking you on a date every night or living with you doesn’t mean you’re alone OR that no one wants you, Betty.” Becks immediately swallowed the rest of his cocktail, hoping she wouldn’t notice how he wanted to end that statement.

“I guess you have a point. But Becks, I just want…I don’t know. Maybe I want to not come home to an empty apartment.”

“But Betty, remember what you told me? You’re a confident businesswoman.”

“Yeah, but even confident businesswomen want to have sex.”

They both laughed nervously for a moment till Becks had an idea.

“Hey, looks like you need another drink and so do I. Don’t move. I will be right back.”

Betty watched Becks quickly walk away till he found a server and ordered them both another drink.

“Alright, more liquid courage is coming our way in just a minute. I slipped the waiter an extra twenty to make sure we get them in less than an hour.”

“Thanks, Becks. I could use another drink.”

“You really don’t need another drink. I mean, I don’t care if you have one because it’s your choice. I’m just saying that whatever happened, alcohol isn’t what you need to resolve it. Instead, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You had a moment of weakness and you did something dumb. It happens. Instead of hating yourself, let it go and move on. I just don’t understand why you thought he was so important. You know there are other people in the world who love you and want you to be there.”

“ I know. I have my family and friends. Yeah yeah yeah. I just want someone to want me more than that. That’s all. Even you were saying earlier that you envied Jeremy and his life—having someone to come home to who loved him. I guess that makes two of us.”

Becks let out a long sigh, running a hand through his slightly curly locks. He reached in to the interior pocket of his jacket and pulled out a wrinkled, folded one dollar bill and stared at it for a few moments. Just then their drinks arrived and as soon as the server handed Becks his drink, he gulped down half of it before he could find the will to finally speak.

“Goddamn it, Betty. I didn’t want to do this now but I guess I have to.   Here, this is for you.” As he said this, he handed her the folded bill, looking out in to the party, trying to look at anyone or anything that wasn’t her.

“A one dollar bill? What? Am I Daniel now? You want to make your Fashion Week bet with me? Is that what you think will make me feel better? I thought you were over this. I’m telling Gwenn on you.”

With a sigh laced with incredulous laughter, Becks reluctantly looked over at Betty and met her gaze. “God, for someone so smart you’re really dense sometimes but I guess I kind of deserved that. No, I don’t want to do the Fashion Week bet. I don’t want to do it ever again. I’m giving you the dollar because I want you to know that I don’t ever want or plan to be a part of that bet or anything that it symbolizes. I, Beckett Scott, have left that behind me officially. You know I’ve changed a lot since that night at Fashion Week and since Petra-gate. I stopped sleeping around as much as I used to a long time ago. I’ve mostly actually been dating but I’ll admit I’ve had my share of friends with benefits arrangements. I’m done with all of that now, though.”

“So what does that mean? And why are you giving me a dollar? I still don’t get it.”

Becks let out a heavy sigh before turning to face Betty. He took her drink from her and set it, along with his remaining drink, on a table to his side. Reaching over, he took her free hand in his and mustered all of the courage he could to look her in the eye.

“Betty, I’m saying I want to date only one person. No one else. I know who it is I want to be with and I’m going to wait until that is a possibility, even if it is a long time before that happens. That dollar is actually the dollar bill I had with me that night at Fashion Week when I let you stay at my hotel suite. I’ve kept it ever since then.”

“This still doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t even know that you had met someone, Becks. When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me? I thought we were friends. Even Gwenn didn’t mention anything.” Betty felt the words rush out in a wave before she could stop them. She was focusing on the bill in her hand so she could stop herself from the tears she felt threatening at her eyes. Why she wanted to cry was beyond her.

_I can’t be sure but she seems to look a little…jealous.   I guess that’s a good sign. She thinks I’ve met someone and doesn’t like it. And why did the music just change?_

Becks hooked his finger under her chin, pulling it up so she would look at him before he started talking again, this time in a softer tone, “Betty, I didn’t meet anyone.”

“Then what’s going on? And why are you giving this to _me_?” As she spoke the last words a spark of realization came over her, “Beckett Scott, why are you giving this to _me_ specifically?”

“I want you to have it because Betty, I know I only want to date you. I only want to be with you. I understand that this isn’t the right time probably for either of us and that you’re not ready to do that with me. I won’t put any pressure on you, we’ll remain friends for as long as you want—forever, if that’s what you want—but I’ll be waiting for you. I want you to keep the dollar and you can give it back to me when or if you decide—if ever—that you want to have a relationship with me that’s beyond being my friend. Until then, I’m always there for you.”

Betty sat perfectly still with her mouth gaping open, trying to process what Becks had just told her. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

_Beckett Scott wants to date me? And only me? He’s waiting for me? When did that happen? How did that happen? Men like Beckett Scott don’t declare that they’ll always wait for me. It just doesn’t happen like that._

“Is all of this just because I changed my hair and have let Justin dress me more lately? You now think that maybe I’m tolerable to look at?” Betty noticed Becks cringe at her words but she couldn’t help it; she had to ask.

“No, Betty, this has nothing to do with your hair or your wardrobe, though given my history I can understand why you would ask. Betty, do you know why I wanted to dance with you at Wilhelmina’s party?”

“Too much alcohol and not enough women?”

Becks let out a nervous chuckle before he could respond. “No, I wanted to dance with you because when I saw you dancing by yourself I couldn’t believe how happy, content and confident you seemed. You didn’t care who was watching and you seemed so…free. I saw you in a whole different light because, unlike the Betty I met at Fashion Week three years ago, you weren’t insecure and needing anyone to save you. You were on your own and flourishing. I, frankly, couldn’t help but want to be near you.”

“I guess that isn’t the worst reason I’ve ever heard.” Betty smiled softly, barely noticing that she had somehow managed to move slightly closer to Becks as he had been talking, even though his finger was still hooked under her chin. She could only hope that he didn’t notice it too.

“Betty, I mean every word I’m saying. I will always be there for you no matter what. I’d do anything you ask, even if you tell me we’ll never be anything other than friends for the rest of our lives and you go off and marry someone else. I’ll still be here for you and I’ll still be waiting, just in case. I know you’re not ready now and that’s fine. Frankly, with how much I’m gone I wouldn’t expect you to want to be with me anyway. Hopefully we can eventually work it out, though.” Becks couldn’t help but lean forward, closing the distance between them until there was barely an inch between them.

_OK, I’ve gone 90% of the way. She needs to come the last 10% so I know she wants this. Please, Betty, please want this like I do._

Betty fought to control her breath until she finally leaned forward, touching her lips to his. They kissed slowly and gently. There was a sweetness to the kiss that surprised both of them. Becks slipped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. When Betty felt Becks’ tongue gently but insistently against her lips, she let them part and wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. The party continued around them but they kept kissing for a few minutes until finally, Becks noticed that they were attracting some attention.

Becks pulled back but kept his arms around her waist as he looked into her eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Betty looked at him with concern as she moved one hand to cradle his cheek.

“No, absolutely nothing is wrong. That was…wow. I just thought maybe we should take a breath since we seem to have an audience.” Becks turned his face just slightly to give the heel of her palm a light kiss before they both looked over to see Amanda, Marc, Matt, Daniel and several other people staring at them.

“Oh my god, Betty, you totally traded up to yummy photographer. You really are fearless, aren’t you?” Amanda winked at both of them and turned away to go find another drink.

Marc and Matt both stared at them silently. Daniel started moving his jaw like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

“Thanks Amanda!” Betty called after the blonde as she strutted away.

“Well, that was certainly interesting. Betty, why don’t you and I maybe go someplace else and talk?” Becks dropped his arms from her waist and stood up, then turned to offer her his hand to help her up. He handed her drink over and grabbed his before nodding a goodbye to the remaining group and walking away, hand-in-hand with Betty.

“Did I just see what I thought I saw?” Marc asked Daniel in shock.

“Unless we’re having the same nightmare, you did.” Daniel threw back the rest of his drink. “I need another. I’ll talk to you later.” Daniel dropped his glass on the nearest table and stalked off. Matt remained silent as he walked away in the opposite direction from Daniel.

“Sorry, I just figured that you wouldn’t want to sit there and watch them stare at us.” Becks tried to explain to her as they were walking along the edge of the water together.

“Don’t apologize. I really didn’t want to sit there and have them staring and judging us. I’m glad we left. Besides, if we hadn’t, then we’d miss seeing the water on such a clear night.” Betty flashed a smile at Becks before letting go of his hand and taking a seat on the beach in a spot where as the waves came in, they’d wash over her feet and the bottom part of her legs. Becks gingerly set his drink on the sand before taking a seat next to her.

_Shit, how close am I supposed to sit? Should I put my arm around her? Maybe I should keep my distance and give her some space so she doesn’t feel pressured. Just keep it light, Beckett. Let her tell you what she wants you to do._

Beckett sat with his knees bent in front of him and his arms laying over them as he looked out over the water, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. He picked up his drink and finished it to distract himself. He was surprised when he heard Betty laughing next to him.

Becks knew she was laughing at him so he gathered his courage and said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m going to confess that I have no idea what I’m supposed to do right now. I had an idea in my head about what would happen and the things I’d say but right now, they all seem pretty ridiculous. I guess my only concern is whether you’re upset.”

“What would I be upset about?”

“What I told you, kissing you, being late getting here, getting up and having us leave like that. I’m sure there are lots of things I’m not thinking of that you could be upset at me about. I just hope they’re things I can fix somehow.” Becks snuck a glance over at Betty. He couldn’t help but be struck by how beautiful she was in the moonlight and also feel disappointed by how she looked slightly sad.

“I am upset about one thing.”

_I knew it. I shouldn’t have kissed her and I shouldn’t have just decided that we should leave. Maybe she wanted to get away from me and I didn’t even give her a chance to tell me. Gwenn is never going to let me live this down when she finds out._

Becks took a deep breath and finally asked, “What is it?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still don't own anything and still would like to not be sued. Kthnx.

“I can’t believe you talked to Marc before me when you got here. I mean, you must have seen him hours before you saw me. You tell me I’m one of your closest friends and you go find _Marc_ , who you barely talk to and I don’t even really think you like, before you go to find me.” Betty looked over at Becks with a slight smile on her face. He laughed lightly, meeting her eyes and feeling his pulse slow down in relief.

“I only found him because I was looking for you…and Daniel. When I got here I figured that I’d probably find you and Daniel in the same place. Also, frankly, it was easier to ask people where Daniel Meade was and then even easier to guess that he’d be in the bar. I was just surprised when Marc was there and you weren’t. When I asked them where you were, Marc told me about you racing Amanda. We all had a good laugh but then I thought I should maybe wait a while before I tried to find you and talk to you. I didn’t want to show up and make you feel suffocated after what had just happened. I wasn’t sure how you were feeling, even though you had told me last week that you were over him.”

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness and your honesty, though for the record I actually would have liked to see you earlier. As much as you thought I would need some space, I could have used a friend.” Betty’s smile grew wider when she noticed how Becks seemed to be staring at her with a wistful look on his face. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, and I understand what you mean. I guess I should have figured that you would want a friend to be there to support you. I’m sorry about that.”

“You’re so serious, Becks. It’s really OK. I’m not really mad that you talked to Marc before me. It’s actually sweet that you were looking for me. But, I guess we should talk about what happened earlier, shouldn’t we? I mean, eventually we probably need to go to sleep and that’s probably not going to happen until we actually talk about this.”

“No, I guess you’re right. So let’s have it out. Tell me what you’re thinking. I think I’ve already done more than enough talking.”

Betty carefully moved Becks’ empty glass out of the way and scooted over toward him until she was sitting with her hip just barely brushing his. She stayed there, silently chewing her bottom lip for a moment as she leaned back on her arms, looking out at the water as if it was going to give her some answer she was looking for. Suddenly it was like an idea hit her and she leaned forward, crossing her legs under her and gently reached up to take one of Becks’ hands in both of hers, setting it in her lap.

Curious and hopeful Becks turned so he was seated facing her. Tentatively, he swept a stray hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear with his free hand. Betty closed her eyes as he did it, leaning into his touch ever so slightly. Becks couldn’t help but scoot closer to her, letting his hand trail down her back and finally rest on her hip so his arm was wrapped around her waist.

“Listen, Betty, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. You don’t have to decide anything or feel like you need to give me any answers. I just knew I had to be honest with you and tell you what I felt. I knew if I didn’t it would feel like I was lying to you and I couldn’t stand that. But you don’t need to tell me anything at all until you want to.” Becks searched Betty’s eyes for some indication that what he said hadn’t somehow hurt her or made things worse.

Instead of responding, Betty leaned into him, bringing her lips crashing into his. She let go of his hand in her lap to bring her hands up to hold his face. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist as she pulled her legs under her and turned so she was kneeling facing him. Becks tightened his grip around her waist, not realizing that he was unsteadying her slightly until she began to topple over on to his lap. Breaking the kiss he caught her and they both laughed for a moment with her sitting across his lap with her arms around his neck and him still holding firmly onto her waist.

They stared at each other wordlessly for what seemed like forever until Betty urgently pulled Becks down for another kiss. Eagerly parting her lips with his tongue, he swept his tongue across her mouth and pulled her closer until their bodies were fully pressed together. He broke off the kiss momentarily to pepper kisses across her cheeks and lightly down her neck until he reached the base of her neck where it met her shoulder. He heard her gasp slightly as he continued to lightly suck and tease her skin with his mouth.

Betty slid her hand down to the front of his shirt collar and began unbuttoning it as quickly as she could manage with her hands shaking slightly. When she had successfully unbuttoned the first three, she slipped her hand inside his shirt and across his chest. Becks suddenly snapped his head up in alarm and grabbed her hand, extracting it from his shirt and instead entwining her fingers with his.

“What’s wrong?” Betty looked at him with confusion and disappointment, not understanding why he stopped what they both obviously wanted.

“Nothing is wrong, Betty. You know I would love to let this keep going. But I can’t. I mean, well, I can. It’s not like there’s anything physically wrong with me that wouldn’t allow it. I just can’t let us do this. Once we pass a certain point, we’ll be past the point of return and we both know it. And that will be fine when it’s the right time. I just can’t let that happen tonight.”

Becks’ heart fell and he felt a cold wash of fear and self-loathing over him as he saw Betty’s chin quiver and knew she was trying not to cry. She pulled her knees up toward her and removing her hand from his, wrapped her arms around her knees. “So you tell me you only want to be with me but then it turns out you don’t want me. Not really. You don’t want to sleep with me. So what do you want?”

Becks groaned and wrapped his arms around her and leaned his cheek against the top of her head, taking a deep breath as he sorted out how to explain what he meant. “Please believe me when I say, Betty, that I want you. I want you and only you and I desperately want to sleep with you. But I don’t want you to sleep with me because you’re lonely or confused or scared. I want it to be because you’ve decided you want to try to make a relationship work. I’m done with one night stands and I don’t want to be yours. I don’t want to be something you regret in the morning. I want something real with you; not something you’re going to feel embarrassed by later. I’m willing to wait until that can happen but sweetheart, I think we both know that it won’t be tonight.”

Betty looked up at him and wordlessly kissed him on the cheek before she nestled her head under his chin again.

“I know. You’re right. I’m not ready to move forward with anything with you, Becks. It’s just not the right time. I still need you as just my friend right now. I appreciate you not wanting to jeopardize any potential relationship we could have in the future just for one night. Can I ask you a favor though?”

“Anything.”

“Can you just hold me like this for a while? I’m not really ready to go back to an empty hotel room yet.”

“I can do that. That’s not a favor at all.” Becks wrapped his arms more tightly around her, pulling her closer against him as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

 

Becks dropped her off outside her hotel room door later that night with a kiss to the cheek as he handed her shoes to her.

“Hey, you know that I’m serious about what I said earlier, right? There’s no pressure and I’ll always be there for you.”

“I do. And I’m glad you understand now isn’t the right time.”

“Of course I understand. It’s whatever you want, Betty. But you should know that if you do ever decide it’s the right time and you do want to pursue this, I’ll make you a very happy woman in more ways than one.” Becks gave her a salacious grin and a wink before kissing her on the forehead.

He waited while she unlocked the door and finally waved before walking down the hall to his room.

A few minutes later Betty heard a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes, wondering what Becks would claim he forgot to tell her and jumped when she saw Matt at the door instead.

“What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to ask you: why him?’

“What?”

“Why him? We break up and your next move is to go after Beckett Scott? That’s even worse than Daniel. What does he have that I don’t?”

“Matt, I’m not having this conversation with you. Whatever is or isn’t happening between Becks and I is none of your business. Good night.” Betty closed the door on him and ignored his continued knocks as she went to draw herself a hot bath.

After a minute Matt finally gave up and headed back to his room. Becks sat a few doors down with his room door open, listening to the entire exchange. A smile crossed his lips as he headed into his room and closed the door, thinking that maybe he should start looking for work in New York soon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Please no suing.

Betty saw Becks’ picture flash across her ringing cell phone in the darkness. She flipped it open, wondering why it seemed she wasn’t allowed to sleep anymore.

“Becks, don’t you know what time it is?”

“Sorry, Betty. I honestly did forget. What time is it there?”

“2am. What’s happening? Is something wrong?”

“No, not really, I guess. This is going to sound silly but I kind of just missed talking to you. I’m sorry; I should have waited to call at a better time. I guess I just got kind of homesick or something.”

“Homesick? Have you ever gotten homesick before?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“So what’s wrong? “

“Nothing. OK, well, Gwenn got back together with her old boyfriend who cheated on her. I don’t like being the disapproving older brother but I can’t help but really hate the guy. I’ve always stayed out of it and supported her decisions because it’s her life and she’s an adult.”

“Well, just because you support her and accept that her decisions are hers and you can’t change them doesn’t mean you have to like them, Becks. What’s the most important, though, is that you’re there for her if something does happen. If he does the same thing to her again, she’s going to need her family and friends to help her through it.”

“You’re right. Thanks for the advice, Betty.”

“You’re welcome. And if you want, you can feel free to tell me about how much you hate the guy. I won’t mind.”

“I appreciate that. Hey, in fact, I might be able to take you up on that offer in person if that’s OK. I’m going to be in New York for a couple of days next week. I was hoping that since Gwenn has a boyfriend I hate and I’m worried might be at her apartment, that I could maybe crash with you?”

“Sure, I told you before that you’re welcome to stay with me any time you need it.”

“Great, you’re the best. Thanks, Betty.”

“You’re welcome, Becks. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. You can go back to sleep now.”

“OK but only if you’re sure.”

“I am. Go to sleep and have sweet dreams, OK? I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Good night, Becks. It will be nice to see you next week.”

“Same here. Night.”

  

 

“I’m coming, hold on!” Betty ran toward the door, shoving things in drawers on her way. She quickly flipped the locks and threw open the door to see Becks leaning against the doorframe, waiting.

“Usually when women yell that at me, there’s not a door between us but I guess I can settle for what I can get for now.”

“Whatever, Becks. Get over here and give me a hug.” When Becks dropped his bags inside the doorway and stepped forward, Betty practically jumped on to him.

“I guess this means you really did miss me, then?”

“Shut up and let’s get some dinner.”

Becks set Betty down and gave her a look of mock sadness, “is that any way to greet me? ‘Shut up’? I guess you didn’t miss me then.”

Betty rolled her eyes as she straightened her blouse and jokingly hit Becks in the shoulder. “Come on, you know I missed you. I tell you pretty much every time I talk to you. What? Do I need to hire a sky writer to convince you?”

“You did it for Daniel.”

“For work. That was different. Come on, Gus is expecting us.” Betty pulled him out of the apartment and toward the stairs.

“Betty, m’darlin’, there you are!” Gus wiped his hands on the bar towel in his hands and walked toward the front door where Betty was standing next to Becks.

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Gus ignored Becks’ protestations and instead pulled Betty into a bear hug.

“It’s good to see you, Gus. Sorry I haven’t been able to stop by in a couple weeks. Work has been crazy lately.”

“Quite alright, darlin’. It’s good to see you now and that’s all that matters. Come on in here and get yourself a seat. Scotty, I guess you can come too.”

“Oh, thank you for the invitation, Gus. It’s so gracious of you. I only sat on a plane for twelve hours today just to come see your ugly mug.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure I’m the ONLY reason you came to New York. The ONLY person you wanted to see. Scotty, you’re still the dumbest liar. Now come here and give me a hug, you ugly ass.” Becks and Gus laughed as they shared a quick hug and headed toward one of the tables in the pub’s dining room.

“Betty, you want your usual?”

“Yes, Gus, that’d be great. Thank you.”

Becks’ eyebrows shot up in surprise, “You have a ‘usual’?” Betty couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“What, did you think that I only came here with you or something?”

“No. Well, honestly I did. I didn’t realize that you’d been back here.” Becks felt sheepish admitting that, especially because part of his reaction was because he realized that he felt disappointed that he didn’t really know habits like these of Betty’s.

“Oh yes, Betty and I are old friends by now. She’s an old soul like me and is kind enough to come by and keep the likes of me company.”

“Becks, I usually come down here for dinner or lunch once per week. Gus and I catch up on what’s going on or he will tell me stories. He even taught me how to play gin. I think I might actually be getting pretty decent at it.” Betty offered the explanation with a simple smile.

“She is. Next I’m going to teach her to play poker when we have a couple more people to join us but you’ll want to watch your shirt after that, Scotty. I can tell that she’s a natural card shark and she’ll probably take you for all you’re worth. She has the advantage of looking like a sweet angel.”

“Yeah, but she can’t lie, Gus. She’s terrible at it.”

“You don’t need to lie when you play poker. You just need to not talk.” Gus said this with an air of finality as Betty and Becks chuckled. A customer walked in, so Gus busied himself with tending to them. Once Gus stepped away from the table, Becks turned to Betty, admiring the fact that she had made a point to spend time with Gus while he was gone.

“Thanks for coming to see Gus, Betty. I hope you don’t feel like you have to do that just because I’m gone because you really don’t.”

“What? No. I really like Gus. Spending time with him is something I look forward to every week. Even Papi likes it; I’ve met him here for dinner a couple times. I think he and Gus have become friends already. Gus has even made Papi like you already because he always talks about you with such pride whenever you come up; I think he misses you more than he tells you.”

“I know he misses me. I just feel so guilty; you probably have talked to him more than I have since I last saw him and even though I’m in town now, I’m leaving the day after tomorrow again.”

“I probably don’t talk to him that much more than you do; I haven’t been able to come see him in a couple weeks because Mode has been such a mess. Papi actually comes here without me to talk with Gus and he likes to tell me about it when we talk. I think Gus has an open invitation to come to Sunday dinner at our house.” Becks was dumbfounded hearing that his surrogate father had become such good friends with the Suarez family without him having any clue.

“Wow, they really are friends. That was fast.”

_How is it that while I’m gone Gus manages to ingratiate himself with Suarezes that I don’t even know? Who cares? Our families are becoming friends already. That has to be a good sign._

“I think Ignacio is where you get your card shark nature. Both of you have a unquestionable sincerity that could easily be used for devious reasons. I bet even Scotty here envies it.” Gus set two plates of hot food in front of them.

“True. I have the opposite issue; everyone assumes I’m never being sincere.”

“That’s not true!” Betty and Gus exclaimed in unison, causing them both to erupt with laughter.

“Really, Becks, you can’t be so hard on yourself. That may have been true at some point but that was just because people had the wrong idea about you because of what page six said about you. You’re a far cry from that man, though. I don’t doubt your sincerity.”

Becks decided not to engage further in the debate about his sincerity and instead turned his attention to Gus, “Why don’t you join us, Gus? Betty and I did come here to see you after all.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Gus pulled a chair up to their table and Chuckie brought him a pint of beer from the bar.

“So how ‘s business here these days, anyway?”

“It ebbs and flows.”

“That sounds like a nice way of saying ‘bad’. What’s happening?”

“It’s a bit slower than I’d like right now but this happens periodically. It will pick back up as the holidays near, I’m sure.”

Becks frowned at his plate, letting the words ping around his head for a few minutes. “Do you need anything?”

Gus leaned back as he laughed then leaned forward and looked Becks in the eye, “like money? I don’t care if you have millions of it, Scotty, I don’t need it. I’ll be fine.”

“What’s the point of having all of that if I can’t be helpful?”

“That’s a nice thought but keep doing what you’re already doing with it. I will be just fine right here. In this business you learn to expect a few bumps here and there. Besides, if things get too bad, I’ll just have Ignacio come help me out in the kitchen and I’m sure we’ll be back on our feet in a hot New York minute with his cooking.” Gus looked over at Betty with a smile as he gave Becks’ hand a reassuring pat.

“OK. But you tell me if you change your mind.”

“You know I won’t, Mr. Moneybags. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go tend to something in the kitchen.” Gus patted them both on the shoulder and got up to head behind the bar.

Becks looked up from his plate to Betty chewing her bottom lip. “What is it?’

“What do you mean?” Betty glanced around, alarmed by Becks’ question.

“What do you want to say? Or what do you want to ask?”

“It’s nothing.”

“No it’s not. Ask it. I know it’s about Gus’s Mr. Moneybags comment. Just ask it so we can get it over with.”

“Becks, you know I don’t care about stuff like that.”

“I know you don’t care if I have money or not. But I also know that you don’t like it when things don’t make sense to you, so ask the question.”

Betty frowned for a moment. “Fine. Gus called you a millionaire and I guess I’ve always kind of assumed it since you’re friends with Daniel and never seem worried about, well, expenses. But given what I know about you, I don’t understand why or how you’re a millionaire. I know photojournalism pays pretty well once you’re well established, especially given your following. I know that your contracts include travel and living costs normally on top of your fee because I had to get Daniel to sign off on several while I was his assistant. I also know your normal fee. But that doesn’t add up to millionaire.”

“And I’m an orphan, right? It’s OK. It doesn’t make sense on the surface; just like most of my life. SBoth of my parents were independently wealthy. My mother came from old money. he also went to medical school and became a surgeon because she didn’t want to live off of her family’s money; she wanted to be self sufficient. When she passed, the family inheritance was split up into three pieces: one part was to provide for Gwenn and I until we were each twenty-one and could access our trust funds. The other two parts were our trust funds. I didn’t grow up rich, really, though. We had a pretty average life until I went to college. My Aunt was pretty bent on making sure that we were treated like other kids. We never wanted for anything but we also weren’t spoiled.”

“But your Aunt who raised you-- didn’t she get half of the family inheritance?”

“No. My mother was an only child. My Aunt Linda was my mother’s best friend. After my father left, my mother changed her will so that Linda got custody of us because everyone knew my father didn’t want us. We were already living with Linda and my mother anyway after my father left and you already know from Gus that my mother died about a year after he left so at least we didn’t have to move again. It was easier.”

“I’m so sorry, Becks.”

“Don’t be. He made his decision. No one can change it and no one is responsible except for him. My father was a businessman and owned several companies. Before he died he had sold them off individually. I assume it was because he wanted to have the money to sustain a posh lifestyle through his death. His death came earlier than he expected. He sold the companies when I was twenty. He died when I was twenty-four. His net worth when he died was $376 million. The only kindness he paid to Gwenn and I in his entire life, I guess, was that he was officially declared as our father on our birth certificates and that he wasn’t a philanderer. Apparently my years of being a ‘man slut’ were not inherited from him, or else I’d probably have several siblings.”

Betty reached across the table to take Becks’ hand in hers as she gently urged, “You say those were kindnesses but when you say them, they don’t sound like they were.”

“I would rather he stayed with my mother. Who knows how things might have been different. Instead of being an orphan at age thirteen who was raised by my mother’s best friend and the nice guy next door to become a complete mess for several years as I traveled the world taking pictures, I could have a family and be thinking about going to see my parents for Christmas this year.”

“Or you could have been Daniel, who had both parents and felt like a disappointment. Or your mother could have still died when you were older and it would be devastating and your sister could have been a teen parent. Who knows? Regardless, you’re a good person and while you didn’t have a traditional family, you have people who love you and have devoted part of their lives to caring for you. That’s something to be happy about. Every time Gus talks about you it’s so obvious he’s proud of you. He’s even practically turned his restaurant into the Beckett Scott Gallery because he’s so proud. Your father’s bad choice doesn’t need to define you.”

“I know. I’ve accepted that his choices were his own and that I would never be able to change them, even if I wanted to. It’s just that sometimes, especially when I think about the holidays, I start to wonder about how things could have been different.”

“If things were different, then I might not know you. As much as I would do anything to keep you from having felt the pain that you have, I’m glad that at least I get to know you. I wish the other things hadn’t happened though.”

“Me too. But they did and it has led me to where I am now. Right now where I’m at is pretty good, honestly.” He gave Betty’s hand a squeeze and saw the blush on her cheeks darken slightly. “So now you know why years of indiscretions didn’t leave me totally destitute. I’m glad that you at least didn’t ask me if I had a sugar momma.”

“I wouldn’t do that. At least, not on purpose.” Betty nervously chuckled at her own admission of her clumsiness.

“I know. Alright, enough of all of this talking. Our food is getting cold.”

 

The rest of dinner passed in a comfortable silence. Afterwards they said their farewells to Gus they stepped out into the late October night and took a stroll through Central Park arm-in-arm.

They had walked in silence for several minutes when Betty finally broke it, “I know you want to ask me about it so just do it, Becks.”

Becks heaved a sigh, looking up into the half-barren tree branches. “I haven’t asked you about it because I wanted to give you some time and space to sift through your feelings without me barging in on them or you feeling like you needed to justify something to me. You were so upset I thought you at least needed that.”

“Well, you’re in luck because I actually like to talk about things and it helps me process them sometimes. So go ahead and ask it.”

“Are you OK about what happened with Matt the other day?”

“You mean sleeping with him?” She glanced at Becks to see the quick, silent nod he gave as he bit his lower lip before she proceeded. “Yes, I’m OK. I know I wasn’t when we talked the other day but I am now. It was just that I knew that it was a mistake because I don’t want to be with him. I was just lonely.”

“Are you sure that’s what it was? It’s OK if you want to be with him. You can tell me; I will understand.”

“I know you will and I really don’t want to be with him. Becks, how many times are you going to ask me that?”

“I don’t know. I only ask it because it feels like Matt keeps coming up over and over again. I don’t want you to think I’m mad or hurt or anything because I’m not. I’m your friend and I want you to be happy. If being with Matt will make you happy then I will support that so you should tell me if that’s what you want. Just be honest with me.”

Betty stopped walking and grabbed Becks’ arm to hold him in front of her, facing her. “I am being honest. I don’t want to be with him. I just… I don’t know. It was a dumb mistake and it shouldn’t have happened. Part of me still feels bad about it.”

Becks groaned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pull her toward him. “You’re not dumb and you don’t need to feel bad about it. You’re both adults and you both made the decision to sleep together. Just be honest about it with him so both of you can move past it if that’s what you want to do.”   Becks could feel Betty’s arms around his waist as he spoke and felt a twinge of guilt that he enjoyed having her this close to him, holding onto him like this while he was talking to her about someone else. Becks started absent-mindedly stroking the back of his hand against her cheek while he waited for her to respond.

She laid her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes for a minute, taking in the soothing feel of his touch, before responding. “I know and I did that. I already talked to Matt and told him I don’t want to be with him. He didn’t take it very well but I know I can’t be with him just because he doesn’t want to move on. That’s not any way to have a relationship. We both should be with people who really want to be with us and whom we really want to be with, too. Besides, I don’t think Matt really wants to be with me. I think he wants to be with the thought of me because he doesn’t really know what he wants right now. But really, I always knew he would leave me once he got bored and would then want something different.”

Betty pressed a silent and soft kiss just below his collarbone before pulling away from him with her eyes on the ground.

“Your cheeks feel cold. We should probably head back to your apartment.”

“Probably. Though my apartment is always a bit cold so remind me to give you some extra blankets so you don’t freeze tonight on the couch.

“Not a problem. Shall we, then?” Becks offered her his arm and they made their way to the subway.

 

Betty could barely contain her excitement as she packed up her bag to leave for the day. After having dinner with Becks the night before she had felt a nervous happiness in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t go away and she felt distracted all day, thinking about seeing him again that evening. Not to mention that Becks had sent her a text earlier in the day saying that he had something exciting to tell her when he saw her. Even though he was going to be leaving the next day and he hadn’t even been there twenty-four hours yet, he had managed to make her giddy. Their ease around each other made it feel like they had been physically around each other every day for months or years instead of the short time they really had been.

She reached out to pick up a file when the world before her went completely black. She froze immediately, unsure whose hands were over her eyes, and felt her heart race anxiously until she recognized the cologne of the person standing behind her. Her heart began racing with excitement and a smile came to her lips.

“Guess who.”

“I hope this wasn’t the surprise you texted me about. I don’t think saying ‘guess who’ counts as something exciting to tell me.” She heard Becks’ deep, soft laugh behind her as his hands dropped from her eyes and instead wound around her waist. His lips brushed her cheek lightly and he gave her waist a quick, tight squeeze before releasing her to walk around her and sit on the edge of her desk.

Despite Becks’ usual confidence that bordered on arrogance some days, he looked nervous as he sat there, fidgeting. “You look beautiful. That also wasn’t what I texted you about. My exciting news is this: several Meade Publications magazines need a photographer on contract from late December through January. With the holidays and everything, they’re short handed. Claire called me earlier and asked me if I would be interested in doing it. It would mean that I would be working in New York for six weeks or so.” Becks looked at her nervously, trying to gauge her reaction.

“That _is_ really exciting! You can spend time with Gus and Gwenn and even see Jeremy and his family for the holidays again. That’s great!” Betty clapped and smiled but noticed Becks’ disappointed look. For a moment she wondered if somehow she had reacted the wrong way.

“Yeah, that is great. I’m really excited to see all of them. I was kind of hoping, though, that maybe you would want to spend time together, too. If not, that’s OK. It was just a thought.” A look of relief washed across Betty’s face as she put together why Becks had been disappointed a moment earlier.

“I would like that. I didn’t say anything about it immediately because I didn’t want to assume anything or put any pressure on you to spend time with me over your family.”

“That’s ridiculous. I think after last night it’s clear that given you and your Dad’s times with Gus, you’ve been accepted as family.” Becks gave her a shy half smile and was relieved when she returned it.

“Good, because I like that. Now how about we go celebrate?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own anything; don't want to be sued.

Betty reluctantly walked to the door to see who was knocking. It was 11pm on a Thursday so she couldn’t imagine who it would be unless Amanda was drunk and locked out again. Since Becks had left the day before, she wasn’t expecting any company. She looked out her peep hole and recognized Daniel standing in her doorway. She immediately flipped the locks and opened the door.

“Daniel! What are you doing here? Come on in.” Betty waved him through the door so he could step inside the apartment instead of waiting and talking in the hall.

“You left your phone at the office so I thought I should bring it to you. Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t notice it was gone.”

“Given how crazy my day has been, I didn’t have time. I spent the entire car ride home working on one of the pieces. I feel like I’ve been editing sunrise to sun down. Thank you for finding it.   You didn’t have to bring it all the way here, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I think we’re good enough friends for me to bring you your phone without it being an imposition. I know you’ve been swamped lately and I had swung by your office on my way out, hoping to catch you, but instead saw your phone sitting on your desk and the rest of your stuff gone. I figured you wouldn’t want to come all the way back to the office to get it tonight. Besides, bringing it to you just gave me an excuse to be able to talk to you, which it feels like we haven’t done in a while.” Daniel looked down at the ground sheepishly, a bit embarrassed that he had just revealed the underlying reason that he had come to bring her the phone.

Betty felt a stab of guilt at his statement because she had to admit that they hadn’t really seen much of each other lately. She hadn’t been avoiding Daniel but she had been trying to give him some space to mend things with his mother and deal with the PR disaster that was his escape from the Order of the Phoenix.

“Well, I was just making some tea if you want some. Maybe you could stay for a bit and we could talk? Unless the reason you were trying to find me was to give me more work to do.” Daniel’s face lit up at her suggestion and she knew that he had been hoping that she would offer.

“Sure. That’d be great. And no, I wasn’t looking for you to give you more assignments; I just wanted to see if you wanted to maybe hang out for a while.” Daniel took his own bag from his shoulder, setting it down next to the dining room table and slid his coat off and on to the coat hook by the door.

The kettle whistled just then so Betty grabbed tea bags and poured them each a cup. She walked toward where Daniel was standing perfectly still in front of the couch, staring at it. It wasn’t until she was standing next to him that she realized what he was actually staring at—a Harvard t-shirt and red basketball shorts that Becks had accidentally left strewn over the arm of her couch.

Betty cursed herself silently that she hadn’t remembered to move Becks’ clothes. She didn’t know why she hadn’t washed them or sent them back to him or at least put them somewhere less visible. She found it inexplicably comforting to have something that smelled like his cologne on her couch. The night he left she had laid on the couch, feeling comforted by it and quietly angry with herself that she had gotten used to his noise and crowding in her small apartment over the two short days he had been there.

Daniel’s mind was racing as he thought about the implications of the clothing that say there.

_I have that Harvard t-shirt. The only other person that I know Betty knows who has that same t-shirt and who I’ve seen wearing those basketball shorts is Becks. But why would Becks have clothing at Betty’s apartment unless he had been here? Slept here. Slept here in Betty’s apartment; in the same place as Betty. Maybe even **with** Betty? No, that’s impossible. Betty would have told me. But then again, she didn’t tell me anything about her and Becks before half of Mode saw them kissing at the party in the Bahamas. OK, don’t jump to conclusions; maybe the clothes aren’t his._

Daniel looked over his shoulder at Betty as she handed him a hot mug of tea and asked in a low voice barely above a whisper, “Betty, do you know someone I don’t who went to Harvard?”

Betty forced herself to stand a bit taller and raise her chin slightly before responding. “No.” Betty held his stare, knowing the conclusion to which he had come.

“The only person I know who has that Harvard t-shirt other than me is Becks. And I’ve seen him wear those basketball shorts. Was…was Becks at your apartment?”

“Yes, until he left to go to Istanbul yesterday.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What do you think I mean?”

“So Becks spent the night here?”

“Yes.”

“How could you have not told me, Betty?!”

Betty furrowed her brows, progressively feeling more irritated at Daniel’s reaction. “Why would I need to tell you?”

“Are you kidding me? You’re my best friend and last time I checked, we told each other everything; even things that most best friends don’t tell each other! Not only that but Becks is one of my closest and oldest friends. How could you do this to me?”

Betty felt her hand clutch the tea mug tighter and tried to will herself to calm down. “Do this to you? I’m doing _nothing_ to you, Daniel. This isn’t about you. You’re my best friend but I’m not obligated to tell you every time someone sleeps at my house just like you’ve never been obligated to tell me about every model or socialite you sleep with or that you’re getting involved with a cult. And why am I the one who is supposed to tell you where Becks sleeps? Why don’t you expect him to?”

“This is about more than just _where_ Becks sleeps; it’s about _who_ he’s sleeping with. And don’t try to compare this to my past exploits; this is different than me not telling you about models whose names I don’t remember and who you don’t know. This is you and Becks: two of my closest friends. I just thought you’d give me a heads up before jumping into bed with him.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t jump into bed with him. He needed a place to stay so he slept on the couch. That’s it.”

“You really expect me to believe that? He could have easily stayed at a hotel or in his own apartment.”

“His sister is living in his apartment and had her boyfriend over, who Becks hates. I don’t know why he didn’t stay in a hotel but I’m guessing it’s because he didn’t want to.”

“So why didn’t he call me and stay at my loft?”

“I don’t know. Ask him. I’m not his keeper or his girlfriend.”

“Just his ‘fun buddy’?”

“No, Daniel, he’s not my Amanda. We’re friends and he slept on the couch. You know me better than that.”

“Yeah, and I know Becks. Come on, Betty, he has about as great of a reputation as I do.”

“And like you it’s not true anymore.”

“So if you didn’t sleep together, why are his clothes here?”

“Why do you think? Because he forgot to pack them in his bag before he left. I wasn’t here when he packed up and left that morning so I didn’t notice it until I got home last night.”

“And what about the Bahamas?”

“We kissed! That’s it. I don’t like the tone you’re taking with me, Daniel. If you’re going to be so mad at me about something that is _my_ choice then I’m going to have to tell you it’s none of your business.”

“Of course, of course. You and I have spent the past four years butting into each other’s personal lives but clearly my two best friends sleeping together isn’t any of my business.”

“We’re not sleeping together!”

“Sure, Betty. Fine. I believe you.”

“No you don’t.”

“You’re right. I don’t. I’m sorry; I think I should go. Goodbye, Betty.” Daniel sat his mug down on the table and grabbed his things, hurrying out the door. Once it slammed behind him, Betty slumped down on the couch, wondering how this had happened and why Daniel would be so angry about something as mild as Becks’ forgotten clothes on her couch.

The next day at work Daniel and Betty avoided each other completely. Neither of them talked that weekend. The silence was finally broken when Betty got a single text from Daniel at 2am on Monday that read :

_I’m sorry. You’re right—it’s none of my business. Whatever is happening between you and Becks, I’m happy for you. –Daniel_

Betty sighed and rolled back into bed. It was a start, anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Using a different format for moving over some events to get to the next chapter. This chapter is also much shorter than the others.
> 
> Disclaimer: Don't own anything-- even some of my ideas were inspired by others. Please don't sue.

From: BSuarez

To: BScott

Subject: Only 7 days!

There are officially only seven days until you’re in New York again. I don’t know about you but I think that’s pretty exciting. Since you’re staying with Gwenn at your/her apartment, I guess I won’t be seeing you every night like the last time you were here. Maybe we could figure out some things to do while you’re here, though.

By the way, Papi wants to have you, Gus and Gwenn over for Sunday dinner sometime. He and Gus were talking about him coming over for dinner and Gus suggested that maybe it made more sense for him to wait until you were in town so it could be all three of you. So you have an open invitation for when you’re here. What do you think?

I’ve got to go and edit three articles before our pitch meeting this afternoon but I’ll call you tonight.

Miss you,  
Betty

 

From: BScott

To: BSuarez

RE: Only 7 days!

Hey,

I’m glad you’re excited because I think it’s great. I can hardly wait for these seven days to pass. I don’t want to flatter myself but my, Miss Suarez, you make it sound like you’re sad you won’t see me every night and have me snoring on your coach. Don’t fret, however, because not only will I be working in the same building as you but also if I know Gwenn, she’s probably dating someone and I’ll inevitably be kicked out of the apartment at least a few nights.

Aside from that, I’m sure we can find some things for us to do so you don’t have to worry about not seeing enough of me while I’m there. You’ll probably be so sick of me by January that you’ll be personally putting me on a plane to anywhere that isn’t New York.

Sunday dinner with your family sounds great but it will probably have to wait until after the holidays. Gus is going out of town to see his sister and her kids in Maine. It’s kind of a bummer because Jeremy and his family are also out of town for the holidays to go see his wife’s family so Gwenn and I will be doing our own thing for Christmas. I told her that even though I’m her brother and would do just about anything for her, she’s too old to ask me to dress up as Santa Claus.

It’s snowing in Paris right now and everything looks gorgeous: almost unreal because it’s so beautiful and serene. I’ve taken a few shots that I’ll have to show you when I get into town.

I can’t wait to talk to you tonight.

Miss you too,  
B

 

From: BSuarez

To: BScott

RE:RE: Only 7 days!

I’m so sorry. I know I said I’d call you tonight but I’m stuck at the office working on some extra pieces from Daniel before the magazine goes to print. Maybe I can give you a quick call in the morning or we could Skype. Let me know what you think would work.

I’m sorry to hear that Gus and Jeremy are going to be out of town. Why don’t you and Gwenn come over to Papi’s house with me for Christmas Eve? Papi is dating a Jewish woman and wants to do a Christmas/Hanukkah party. I think Daniel is planning to come too since he and his Mom still aren’t on the best terms right now. It would be fun if you both come. I know you’re going to be worried about intruding but you won’t be because I am inviting you and I just texted Papi about it so now you have to come.

I’ll talk to you in the morning, hopefully.

Sleep well,  
Betty

 

From: BScott

To: BSuarez

RE: RE: RE: Only 7 days!

Hey,

Let’s Skype in the morning at 7am your time. I’ll be awake but I can’t promise I’ll be fully clothed so you might get a bit of a peep show. I highly doubt you’ll mind, though.

I’d ask if you’re really sure about coming to your house but I already know the answer. The only answer I can give you is that we’d love to take you up on your invitation. Let me know what we can bring to contribute to the meal.

I’m going to go finish out a few things but I’ll talk to you in the morning.

Can’t wait to see you,  
B


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Please don't sue me.

Betty kneeled on the bathroom floor and blinked back tears as she stared at the pregnancy test that undeniably had a plus sign on it. She was pregnant. What a way to start the Christmas Eve festivities. Before she could think through it much more though, Hilda was knocking on the door, wanting to talk to her.   Betty opened the door and practically ran into Hilda.

“Betty, I have to talk to you.”

“Hilda, I’m pregnant.”

“What? I’m pregnant.”

Just then their father called up to them to come down and help with dinner. For the rest of the afternoon they helped Ignacio with the preparations but also couldn’t help but try to talk about what they were going to do. They finally agreed to get through dinner before they said anything to anyone about it, which was for the best since Hilda didn’t know how to tell Archie and Betty didn’t know how or when to tell anyone other than Hilda.

The doorbell rang and Ignacio escorted his girlfriend Jean into the kitchen. Hilda and Betty both felt their hearts drop when they saw that she was the woman at the pharmacy who had sold them their pregnancy tests. As soon as Ignacio and Jean left the kitchen, Betty and Hilda turned to each other and simultaneously said,

“She sold me my pregnancy test today.”

“Wait. You took yours today?” Betty asked.

“Yeah, did you?”

“Yes. But you knocked on the door before I got the result and then it dropped down behind the toilet. I didn’t get to check it until after Papi came in.”

“Wait, I dropped mine behind the toilet before I could check the result and then again afterwards. Then I threw mine in the trash.”

“I threw mine in the trash too. Hilda, did we check the same test?”

“I don’t know. But there’s one way for us to find out.”

Hilda grabbed Betty’s hand and they began to rush through the living room on their way upstairs. Before they could get that far, though, the doorbell rang and Archie walked in. Hilda and Betty exchanged a glance and knew that they had to stay put since people were arriving. They’d just have to wait until after dinner to check the trash.

Betty watched as Archie stepped over to Hilda and kissed her. Maybe Betty had imagined it but she swore that Hilda flinched a little at the contact with him. There seemed to be something odd going on between them but Betty didn’t know why. Betty shook the thought from her mind though because the doorbell rang again and she saw Becks and Gwenn walk in, handing her father a pumpkin pie.

Becks stepped over to Betty to give her a hug. “You look beautiful tonight.” He told her as he slipped his arms around her waist. He felt her arms pull him tighter than normal, making him concerned. “Betty, is everything OK?” He whispered in her ear.

Betty pulled back from him but wouldn’t look at him and instead seemed intent on staring at the buttons on his shirt. “I’m fine. It’s just been a weird day. I’ll tell you about it after dinner, though.”

Becks nodded, knowing that if he pushed the subject it would only make it worse. “Sure. Whatever you want to do. Just let me know if you need anything, OK?” He saw Betty nod slightly and was satisfied.

Becks dropped his arms from her waist and stepped over to say hello to Ignacio and Hilda while Gwenn instead came to give Betty a hug. Gwenn gave her an inquisitive look but didn’t remark at all. Instead, she struck up a conversation with Justin.

Betty was content to stand by herself for a moment, not talking to anyone. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to tell Becks or Gwenn or Daniel if she was pregnant. She knew she needed her best friends to reassure her right now but she really wasn’t sure she was ready to tell them.

“Where’s Daniel?” Ignacio asked, pulling her from her thoughts. She scanned the room realizing that Hilda, Gwenn and Becks were all looking at her with confused and slightly worried faces.

“I don’t know but it’s Daniel; he’s almost always late, Papi. You know that.”

“True. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Becks and Gwenn exchanged a look when they heard the familiar way Papi talked about Daniel. “I just texted him. I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Becks offered. “By the way, Mr. Suarez, I wanted to thank you for opening your home to Gwenn and I tonight. It’s good to be around such wonderful people tonight instead of by ourselves for Christmas Eve.”

“Not a problem, mijoh. We’re happy to have you two join us. Gus and Betty both talk about you so warmly that I’ve been wanting to meet you myself.” Ignacio gave Becks a warm pat on the back. “Now I’m going to go check on the tamales.”

Daniel arrived a few minutes later, dusting snow off the shoulders of his coat. “Sorry I’m late. I had to fix a few things before I left the office and then traffic was terrible.” Daniel explained while he gave Betty a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, then moved on to hug Hilda, Gwenn, Becks and Justin and shake hands with Bobby. When he got to Ignacio, they exchanged a smile and a quick hug before he introduced Daniel to Jean.

“You’re just in time, mijoh. Why don’t we all take a seat in the living room? I’ve prepared a holiday cocktail for everyone.”

Everyone started shuffling toward the living room, moving furniture around and re-arranging so everyone had a seat. Betty was still standing in the doorway to the living room when Daniel walked up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her flinch under his touch.

“Betty, is everything OK? You seem a bit off today.” Daniel asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ve just had a long day; that’s all.”

Daniel crooked an eyebrow at that, clearly not believing her but considering whether or not he should tell her that.

“Really? OK. I know we’ve been getting better since I was at your apartment but things still aren’t quite the same and I know it’s my fault. I’m sorry about all of that, Betty, but please remember I’m your friend and I’m here for you.”

“I know you are. Thank you. Now we’d better go sit down before Papi comes back.”

Betty took a seat in the chair next to Becks and Daniel sat down on the other side of her. Gwenn, who was sitting on the other side of Becks, found it kind of curious how they always seemed to position themselves on either side of Betty like her bodyguards. She noticed how her brother was fidgeting just a bit, obviously unsure how to act or what was going on with Betty who, she had to admit, was acting odd tonight. She wasn’t surprised he was so nervous around her; since he came into town a week ago he had found a reason to spend time with her almost every day so far, even if it was only for a few minutes. It was clear that his trip to New York was about more than just a contract with Meade publications.

Ignacio came back into the room carrying a tray of drinks for everyone. Gwenn and Becks immediately jumped up to help him with it. Unfortunately, the drinks were terrible and undrinkable. Archie suggested beer instead and before Becks and Gwenn could offer, Hilda and Archie went to get them. When they walked back in the room Hilda came over and handed Betty a beer along with the rest of them.

Becks furrowed his brow in confusion as Daniel said, “Betty, you hate beer.”

“Not anymore! Mmmmm beer.” Betty tried tipping the bottle back to take a drink and instead spit it out all over her and Hilda, who was still standing in front of her.

Hilda grabbed Betty’s hand and pulled her up exclaiming, “Look at that! You got beer on both of us. Sorry, guys, we better go change really quickly. We’ll be right back.” With that, Hilda pulled Betty upstairs.

Daniel leaned over Betty’s empty chair toward Becks. “Betty is acting really weird tonight. Do you know what is going on with her? Is everything OK?”

“I have no idea what’s going on but I doubt everything is OK.”

“Yeah, if she’s deciding to suddenly drink beer it must mean something is up.”

“Hah. Well, I think we saw how well that worked out.” Becks took a long drink of his beer and thought that this was going to be a long night.

“Well, while you two speculate on why Betty is acting so strange, I’m going to go find the little ladies room.”

Daniel told her where the one upstairs was and she quickly walked away.

Once upstairs she found the door Daniel told her would be the right one, reached for the handle and opened it. She wasn’t prepared to see Hilda and Betty there with Betty holding a pregnancy test in her hand.

 

“Betty, are you pregnant?” Gwenn stared at the pregnancy test, shocked at what she thought she was seeing.

“I don’t know, Gwenn. Close the door and come here.” Betty grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom while Hilda closed the door behind her.

“Hilda and I both took pregnancy tests today. One came out positive and one came back negative but we got them mixed up so we don’t know whose is whose. And my father’s girlfriend Jean was the woman at the pharmacy who sold us both the tests.” Betty quickly explained to Gwenn. Gwenn took the pregnancy test out of Betty’s hands as if holding the positive test would magically make it clear whether Betty was in fact pregnant or not, despite the mix up.

Hilda paced around the tiny bathroom, looking nervous, “We should move this conversation to your room, Betty, before someone else comes up to use the bathroom and finds us here. We’d have a lot of explaining to do then.”

“You’re right, let’s go.”

The three of them quietly snuck to Betty’s room, carefully closing the door behind them, hoping no one heard them.

“So, you’re not sure if you’re pregnant, Betty?” Gwenn asked once she and Betty were seated on the edge of Betty’s bed.

“No. I’m not.”

“Didn’t you use protection?”

“Yes, I did. I guess it must not have worked or might not have worked.”

“Have you told Becker yet?”

“No, I haven’t said anything to anyone other than Hilda, you and Jean. No one knows.”

“Well, don’t you think you should tell him?”

Betty was confused why Gwenn seemed so worried about whether Becks would know and when, “sure, I’ll probably tell him and Daniel if it’s positive.”

“Daniel?” Gwenn looked surprised at Betty’s suggestion.

“Yeah, I’ll probably tell them at the same time.”

“Wait, so you think it could be Daniel’s?”

Betty gasped as she heard Gwenn’s question, “No, why would I think that?”

“You said you’d need to tell him and Becker. Why else would you need to tell them both unless you thought it might not be Becker’s because it was Daniel’s?”

Betty let out the breath she was holding as she finally understood why Gwenn seemed so insistent that Betty tell Becks about her potential pregnancy. “Gwenn, it couldn’t be Daniel’s and it couldn’t be Becks’ either. I haven’t slept with Daniel or your brother.”

“Then whose is it?”

“That’s not as easy to explain.”

Just then they heard the room door open. Becks almost fainted when he saw his sister sitting on Betty’s bed, holding a pregnancy test.

“Gwenn, are you pregnant?” Becks said in a harsh whisper, closing the door behind him.

“No, Becker, I’m not pregnant. The test isn’t mine.”

Betty held up her hand tentatively. “It’s mine, we think. It’s a long story but I might be pregnant.”

“You _think_ it’s your test? How do you not know? I mean, I’m not a woman and I’ve never had to do this, but I thought generally you knew when a pregnancy test was yours once you’d, you know, taken it.” Becks rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair trying to make sense of the scene he saw unfolding before him.

“Hilda and I both took pregnancy tests but we got them mixed up. One came out negative and one positive but we don’t know which one belongs to whom.”

“Oh, so pretty much someone in this room is definitely pregnant? It’s just a question of whom?”

“Pretty much.” Betty began fidgeting, crossing her arms across her chest and looking intently at the bedspread, the floor or anywhere else she could manage that wasn’t Becks.

Hilda got up and walked over to the door by Becks, “I’m going to go back downstairs so Archie and Papi don’t start wondering what’s going on. I’ll try to delay Papi from coming up here if I can.”

“Just tell them I’m having a problem and Betty is giving me advice about it, Hilda,” Gwenn offered before Hilda opened the door.

“Good thinking. I’ll do that.” Hilda flashed a smile before offering a little wave and leaving, closing the door shut behind her.

Betty heard Hilda talking quietly to someone in the hallway and then distinctly heard Daniel let out a half whispered, “What?!” Before they heard a knock at the door. Becks rolled his eyes at yet another person coming in, knowing that Daniel was going to end up in this conversation no matter what but also preparing himself for what Daniel inevitably was going to assume. Becks dutifully answered the knock at the door. Daniel stepped through and closed it behind him, seeming to ignore Becks’ presence and instead turning to Betty.

“Betty, is what Hilda told me in the hall right? Do you really think you might be pregnant?” Before Betty could answer, Daniel pulled a chair over from the corner of the room and set it to face where Betty sat. Becks crossed the room and sat down next to Betty on the bed, casting a quick glance toward Gwenn who was sitting on the other side of Betty.

Betty looked over at Daniel and nodded, “I don’t know yet. It could be that Hilda’s pregnant. I have to take another test later to find out for sure.”

Daniel’s jaw dropped and then closed again as he grappled for what to say next. Becks could have sworn that Daniel shot him a dirty look quickly and couldn’t figure out why, “Who’s the father, Betty?”

_Wait, is he mad because he thinks it’s mine? Is that just because he’s upset that he thinks I slept with Betty or because he also thinks it might be his and he thinks I’m the other guy? Wait, Betty would have told me if she slept with Daniel. That would have definitely been a 3am phone call or at least an e-mail or something. Is he jealous of me right now? Am I jealous of the idea of him sleeping with Betty?_

Betty shot Daniel an angry look, though Becks couldn’t understand why. “Daniel, I—“

“It’s Matt, isn’t it?” Becks couldn’t stop himself from cutting her off to just say what he knew had to be the truth. As soon as the words were said, he felt a bad taste in his mouth that he could only assume was due to having to admit to himself that the woman he desperately wanted to be with had slept with a guy he couldn’t stand. Even though Betty had told him about it weeks ago and sobbed on the phone to him about it, Becks had tried to forget it happened, especially since it was only once.

“Yes, Becks, it’s Matt. Well, I mean, if I am pregnant, it would be Matt’s. Oh god, if I’m pregnant, I’m going to have to tell him…and deal with his mother. Oh my god, this is going to be a nightmare.” Betty covered her face with her hands, leaning against Becks’ arm. Becks instinctually put his arm around her, soothingly rubbing her back while she turned her head into his shoulder.

“We’ll figure it out, Betty. You don’t even have to tell him if you don’t want to. There isn’t any reason he has to know. It’s your choice and we’ll all support you.” Becks looked up, holding Daniel’s gaze as he said this, watching as Daniel nodded in agreement to him.

Leaning forward, Daniel took one of Betty’s hands in his and offered, “Becks is right, Betty. If you are pregnant, you don’t have to tell him if you don’t want to. Really, Betty, I don’t think you should tell him under any circumstance. Cal isn’t exactly the nicest guy and Matt has never met a responsibility he didn’t want to run away from.   There’s no knowing what Cal might do if you were pregnant. He doesn’t deal well with things that don’t go as he exactly planned them. You and the baby wouldn’t be missing anything by not having to deal with that family. It makes mine look normal.”

Betty looked up at Daniel, a small frown playing on her lips as she thought over what he said. “But Daniel, I watched Hilda be a single Mom. Raising a child and having a career is really hard. I don’t want to do this alone; I’d have to tell Matt.”

Becks and Daniel looked at each other for a few seconds before Becks gave him a knowing eye roll. “Betty, honey, you wouldn’t be doing anything alone. Are you kidding me? First of all, you know Ignacio would do anything for you and Hilda and Justin would be there. Not to mention that Daniel and I, while having served as the most eligible bachelors for a good stint there, would also be there for you every step of the way. I think we’re both pretty great at helping to make sure that kids don’t grow up to be total assholes. I mean, if Gwenn and DJ are any indication, Daniel and I are the best bachelor fill-in Dads you could find. You wouldn’t need Matt if you didn’t want to deal with him; you’d have all of the support you can stand right here. Probably even more than you could stand, honestly.”

“And I’m your boss, so it’s not like you need to have any concern whether or not you’d be able to balance your work with being a Mom. We’d work it out, Betty. You don’t need to worry about anything.” Betty looked back and forth between her two closest friends, wondering how it could be possible for her to have such good people in her life.

“Thanks, guys. You can’t imagine what this means to me. You’re the best.”

“Well, I hate to break up you guys planning to be the next iteration of Full House, but we should probably hold off on picking out paint colors and cribs until Betty takes another test later tonight. Until then we should get back downstairs and finish out dinner before Mr. Suarez gets suspicious and comes up here.”

Betty stood up, smoothing her skirt and walking across the room to the door. “Gwenn is right. We should get back downstairs now. Let’s go.” Betty opened the door and walked out with Gwenn following her. Becks and Daniel waited a few seconds before turning to each other and exchanging an irritated glance.

“So uh, Becks, do you want to kill Matt or should I?” Daniel looked Becks in the eye and they both started laughing softly.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to kill him. But god, if she is pregnant and insists on telling Matt, we’re both going to be spending the next two decades of our lives trying to undo that idiot’s influence and keep that kid from turning into its Dad.”

“Or from turning into us,” Daniel offered with a smirk.

Becks had to laugh at that, even though he still felt uneasy about the entire situation. “True, but we were just man sluts. Matt is actually an asshole.”

“I see you’ve picked up that Bettyism. But yeah, Matt is an asshole just like Cal and he’s been so pathetic and clingy and jealous about Betty since they broke up that it makes me sick. I wouldn’t put it past the guy to try to sabotage the condom just to have a reason to tie her to him. Even though he’d probably split once he got bored with being a Dad like he does with everything else.”

Without thinking, Becks responded, “It wouldn’t matter if he sabotaged the condom; Betty’s on the pill. She’s too smart to leave it up to some guy. She must have missed a day or something for this to happen.” It wasn’t until he noticed that Daniel’s face had turned ghost white that he realized what he said and to whom. “I think that came out wrong, Daniel.”

Daniel barely managed to whisper, “How exactly do you know Betty is on the pill?”

“Daniel, I’ve stayed at her apartment. I saw it in the medicine cabinet while I was looking for some toothpaste. Calm down. I’m sure you know she’s on the pill—you spend enough time with her and at her apartment that I’m sure you’ve noticed something before.”

Daniel made eye contact with Becks, suddenly looking very serious and placing his hands on both of Becks’ shoulders. “No, I didn’t. Becks, are you sure that there’s no possibility the baby could be yours?”

“Yes, Daniel, I’m sure there is no possibility of that.” Becks pat Daniel on the shoulder, hoping that would get him to back off.

“Becks, even if you did use a condom that doesn’t mean—“

“I know how sex works, Daniel. I spent over ten years of my life with the world knowing very well that I know how sex works, just like you. They named awards for it after us. But that’s not your real question, I guess. No, Daniel, I am not sleeping with Betty. That’s what you really want to know, isn’t it?” Becks could feel the temperature rising in his cheeks but didn’t care if he did look flushed and irritated as he pushed Daniel away from him; Daniel, who had been his best friend for well over a decade.

“I’m sorry, Becks. I know it’s none of my business. Betty’s one of my best friends and I get a bit protective over her.”

“I know, Daniel. She’s one of my closest friends, too.”

“I know. I guess after I saw you two together in the Bahamas, I wondered why Betty hadn’t told me that you two were so close. I started to worry that maybe I had pushed away the most reliable person in my life. Not to mention that I remember how you and I were. I don’t want her to get hurt, you know.”

Becks laughed and rolled his eyes at Daniel, shoving his hands in his pants pockets and rocking back on his heels. _Wow, that took some balls to say that to me, Daniel._ “This is Betty we’re talking about. Even when you did actually push her away she came and rescued you from a cult. She left Matt in jail to do it, even. You know she’d never allow you to push her away.

As for me hurting her—Daniel, you know I’m not that guy anymore just like you aren’t. I care about Betty and I want to be with her if she ever decides that she wants to be more than friends. I would never hurt her and you know it.”

Daniel couldn’t deny that he had seen how concerned Becks was about Betty and how he treated her differently than he had any woman Daniel had ever seen him date. “I know, Becks. I’m sorry. Your relationship with Betty is up to you and Betty. As long as you’re both happy, I’m happy for you.” Becks could tell he was lying at least a little bit but decided against exploring it.

“Thanks, Daniel.   Let’s get downstairs before everyone comes looking for us.” Becks pat Daniel on the back and then headed down the hall.

“Hey Becks?” Daniel softly called after him.

“Yeah, Daniel?”

“I actually asked if there was any chance you were the father because I know you’d be a great Dad to any kid.”

“Thanks, man.” They made their way down the stairs and back to the rest of the family so they could enjoy the holiday.

 

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, despite Betty managing to knock over every beverage container in sight and Hilda flinching every time Archie touched her. Bobby seemed completely oblivious to the awkwardness between Hilda and Archie. Becks tried to ignore the awkwardness and keep an easy conversation going with Ignacio in hopes that it would distract him from noticing Betty’s odd behavior.

After dinner, Hilda, Gwenn and Betty offered to do the dishes so Ignacio could take Jean home. Once they finally left, Hilda and Betty knew they only had an hour or so to get another test from the store and get the results.

“It’s fine. I’ll go. Only one of us needs to take the test for us to find out and it’s better if it’s not you since Archie and Bobby are both sitting in our living room unaware.” Betty set the last plate on the drying rack and wiped her hands.

Hilda turned to face Betty with her hands on her hips. “Betty, you can’t go. You have three guests here. I can at least go get the test. I agree that it’s probably better if you take it, though.”

“Seriously, neither of you can leave. Archie and Bobby don’t know how to be around each other and Becks and Daniel can’t be allowed to say something stupid in front of them. I’ll go. I can just say I’m going to get some beer or something.” Gwenn stepped up to the counter and set down the dish towel in her hands.

“But you don’t know your way around. You would need someone to go with you.”

Gwenn shrugged, “I’ll just take Daniel or Becker, then. They both probably have a decent sense of where to go, right?”

Before Hilda or Betty could object, Gwenn walked into the living room and announced she was going to walk to the store to get beer. Bobby immediately stood up, proclaiming, “it’s 10pm in Jackson Heights and you don’t know your way around. I’ll go.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I have some things to pick up anyway.”

“Fine, then I’m at least going with you or at least driving you.” Bobby said, grabbing his coat and keys.

“Thank you, Bobby, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“No, no, I’m going to drive you. It’s cold out there anyway. Beckett, I promise I’ll make sure nothing happens to your sister, OK?”

Gwenn looked around slightly helpless. Becks caught her eye and recognized why she was going to the store. He got up and immediately offered to go instead of Bobby but Bobby was having none of it.

As the door closed behind Bobby and Gwenn, Hilda and Archie fell into an awkwardly stilted conversation. Becks looked around the room, noticing Justin sitting in a chair near Hilda and Archie looking confused and awkward.

“Hey, Justin, I hear you’re practically Mode’s newest and youngest stylist already.” Becks said as he crossed the room to sit on the coffee table facing Justin.

“I could only wish.”

“Well, do you want to learn about how to put together a shoot? I can show you some of the tricks while we wait for my sister and Bobby to get back.”

Justin’s eyes lit up and he clapped his hands, “Really?”

“Yeah, come over to the dining room table and I’ll show you some of my frames and plans. Just let me grab my bag.” Becks flashed a smile as he went to get his things. He realized it was actually good that he had come straight from work or else he wouldn’t have had his bag with him.

Betty turned to Daniel, “You want to go talk outside? I need some air.”

“Sure.”

Bundled up, they took a seat side-by-side on the front step. They sat in silence for the first few minutes until Daniel cleared his throat.

“So Matt, eh?”

“Yep.”

“But you’re not together, are you?”

“No.”

“Do you want to be with him?”

“No.”

“So why did you do it then?”

Betty sighed, wishing not to have this conversation. “I don’t know. Becks left for his shoot after the Bahamas, you were with Amanda and dealing with Cal and your mother. I felt lonely and Matt was, well…Matt was there. I just wanted to feel wanted by someone and I knew Matt wanted me.”

“That’s it? How did it happen?”

“I was at the office late, feeling crummy about myself and he was there too. As I walked out, I asked him if he wanted to share a cab and instead I ended up at his apartment with him.

I felt terrible the next morning so I left him a note and snuck out. I went home and avoided his calls for the rest of the day. I didn’t finally talk to him until a day later.”

“So how did Becks know that it had to be Matt’s?”

“After I came home that morning, I felt terrible and needed to talk to someone, so I called Becks. I proceeded to cry on the phone to him for half an hour because I knew it was a mistake.”

“How did Becks handle that?”

“How he always handles it when I call him with a problem—quietly. He talked me through it, let me cry and felt bad that he was in a different country. He always tells me I’m not dumb when I feel like I am and that I need to forgive myself for making mistakes.”

“He’s definitely right about that. You’re always willing to forgive other people’s mistakes but you’re terrible at forgiving yourself. So it sounds like Becks has been there for you a lot these days. You two have really gotten closer lately, haven’t you?”

“We have. He’s a great friend.”

“Friend? Interesting. You didn’t just look like friends in the Bahamas. If something else is going on between you, Betty, you can tell me. We used to be friends too, you know.”

“Well, the Bahamas was an isolated incident. We’re just friends.”

“But you could be more, couldn’t you? Listen, Betty, I really am sorry for what I said when I was at your apartment a few weeks ago. If you and Becks want to be together then I’m happy for you. He’s a great guy and you’re wonderful. If you’re happy then I’m happy for you. I promise.”

Betty took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next part of what she was going to say, “We could be more than friends if I wanted it. When you saw us kiss in the Bahamas, Becks had just told me that he knew he only wanted to be with me and that he’d wait for me, with no pressure, to tell him if or when I wanted something more than friendship with him. That he’d wait and be my friend and always be there for me, even if I tell him I only ever want to be his friend and instead go off and marry someone else.”

“BECKS said this? Beckett Scott?”

“Yes.”

“Beckett Scott, my friend from college. The guy in your house right now, teaching Justin about photo shoots?”

“Yes, that Becks. And so far he means it. He’s been celibate and hasn’t dated at all ever since then. Every time I need him he’s there, even if he’s physically somewhere else.”

“Wow, he’s changed even more than I thought. I’m glad though. You deserve someone who will always be there for you the way you are for all of us.” Daniel reached over and brushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“Thank you, Daniel. You know, you’re still a good friend and you’re there when it counts.”

“Thanks. I feel like I probably haven’t been the best and most supportive friend lately but I’d like to try and change that.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

“I’m glad. So, I’m going to ask the obvious question: do you want to be more than friends with Becks?”

“Yes? No? I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

“How can it be complicated? It’s just that either you want something more or you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“He’s always traveling. I don’t think it’s fair to either of us to try to have a relationship where we’re constantly stuck, waiting for each other.”

“But it sounds like Becks already kind of is in that relationship.”

“By choice. I didn’t ask him to and he’s not asking me to.”

“True, but that doesn’t answer my question of what’s stopping you? He’s made it clear that it’s your choice and that he’s not going to ask you to do what he’s doing. That you have to tell him what you want. So if you want to be with him, what’s really stopping you?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’d just like to actually know we’d be in the same city—or even on the same continent—most of the time before we jeopardize our friendship over a relationship. And maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe, since he’s not here I feel like I should take the time to really know what I want.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Daniel, the guy told me he’d wait for me for as long as I needed. That’s pretty serious. I know I don’t owe him anything because he’s committed to being my friend no matter what, but I feel like I should know that I’m one hundred percent ready to be with him before I tell him we should be something more.”

“I guess that makes sense. He did kind of put out there a pretty serious promise. But what makes you think you couldn’t feel that type of commitment now?”

“Seriously? Look at Walter, Henry, Gio, Matt—I’m not always great at knowing what I want. What does it say about me and my commitment when even though I’m telling you I want to be with Becks, I slept with Matt?”

“It says you’re in denial and that Becks is a much better guy than I ever gave him credit for.” Betty looked frustrated at his denial comment but didn’t have time to object because they saw Bobby’s car pull up.

“I guess it’s time to find out the rest of my life.”

“It will be fine, Betty. You have your family and Becks, Gwenn and I. You’ll never be alone in this. Judging by what you were saying about Becks and what he said earlier, if the pregnancy test is positive I suspect he’ll be finding a lot more permanent work in New York a lot sooner than you would think possible.”

Gwenn hopped out of the car with a bag in her hand and Bobby pulled open the trunk to get out a case of beer. Gwenn walked up to Betty and grabbed her hand, saying, “I had the most embarrassing accident at the store. Can I borrow something to wear, Betty?”

“Of course. Come on in and I’ll find you something.” Betty led Gwenn into the house and up the stairs. Once they were in the room with the door closed she finally ventured to ask how Gwenn managed to get around Bobby going in the store with her.

“I told him I needed to get tampons and was using getting beer as my cover so I wouldn’t have to announce it to everyone. He left me alone to do my shopping and just went to buy the beer so I wouldn’t have to carry it to the car.”

“Wow, thank you. Why did you say you needed to borrow clothes?”

“Oh, I spilled a drink on my shirt so I’d have an excuse to need to come upstairs with you. So I do actually need to borrow a shirt.”

“You’re really good at this. Are you sure you’re not related to the Meades or that you don’t work at Mode? Anyway, go ahead and look through my closet. Take whatever you want. I guess I’ll, uh, go take care of business.” Gwenn pulled the pregnancy test from her coat pocket and tossed it to Betty.

“Good luck Betty. I hope this is one test you fail.”

“Me too.”

Five minutes later, Gwenn and Betty happily bounced down the stairs with Gwenn now wearing Betty’s old New Kids on the Block t-shirt.

“I see you found a shift, Gwenn. Everything go OK, Betty?” Becks called out from the dining room.

“Yep. We threw Gwenn’s shirt in the laundry and we’re in the clear.” Betty was happy but felt her mood dampen when she looked over and saw the sadness and shock on Hilda’s face.

Hilda calmly got up and excused herself, going upstairs as fast as she could. Betty followed behind to console her. After ten minutes and reassuring Hilda that her eye makeup looked fine, Betty coaxed Hilda back downstairs and they rejoined the party.

Bobby and Archie were opening beers and preparing drinks for everyone except Justin, who had put on Christmas music. He claimed it was because the mood was ‘too serious for a holiday party.’

Betty leaned over and whispered to Hilda, “you can think about everything tomorrow. For tonight, just have fun. Just let yourself have fun for tonight and you can figure everything else out later.” Hilda nodded and gave Betty a half smile as she walked over to Archie.

A glass of wine appeared in front of Betty and when she looked, she saw Daniel was the one holding it. “I figured you’d want to celebrate but you hate beer so I made sure Gwenn knew to get some wine while she was at the store.”

“Thanks. I could use this after the drama today.”

“Are you relieved?”

“Yes. Even though I knew by the time Gwenn handed me the second test that I could do it—raise a child and still have a career—I really didn’t want to have a child that might look and sound like Matt.” Daniel laughed heartily at that as Betty scrunched her nose and shook her head.

“It’s strange, though,” she continued, “if it wasn’t Matt’s baby, I feel like having all of you there to support me would have meant that not only could I still have my dream but also that my child would grow up the most loved child in the world. I think that says a lot abut the wonderful people in my life.”

“Betty, we’re only wonderful because you make us that way.”

“You know, Daniel, no matter what happens with Becks and I, I’ll still be your best friend and you’ll still be mine. You’ll never not have me in your life. I won’t allow it.”

“It’s funny you say that. Earlier tonight I told Becks I was worried I’d pushed you away too much. He told me that wasn’t possible because you wouldn’t allow me to push you out of my life. I knew he was right.”

“How did you know he was right?”

“He reminded me that despite me shutting you out when I was deep in the Order of the Phoenix, you still rescued me from them. It didn’t matter that I pushed you away; you still were there for me.”

“Well, we all make bad decisions sometimes. It doesn’t mean that your friends shouldn’t be there for you through that.”

“I know you’ll always be there for me, Betty. I have a feeling I couldn’t get rid of you or Becks even if I tried.”

“You’re probably right but I know I couldn’t get rid of either of you, too.”

“Yep, I think we’re all stuck with each other. It’s like how you’re stuck with your family, right? Isn’t that what people always say?”

Betty looked at him more seriously, “That’s because all of us are family, really. Isn’t family just the people you can count on to support you no matter what? I think we’ve all got that figured out by now. I mean, you and Becks were offering to help me raise someone else’s child earlier.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Betty. All of us are family, really.”

Becks and Gwenn joined their conversation and they all shared a congratulatory toast between the four of them. Ignacio eventually returned and joined them for a quick drink and holiday toast before everyone went their separate ways.

Outside the Suarez’s home, Daniel, Betty, Gwenn and Becks exchanged hugs, holiday wishes and made plans to get together the next morning for Christmas breakfast before Betty had to be back in Queens to be with her family in the afternoon.

Gwenn and Daniel persuaded Becks and Betty that they should share a cab. Once they left, Becks looked over at Betty tentatively.

“I think my sister essentially just told me she was kicking me out of my apartment for the night. Well, I guess it’s Gwenn’s apartment now.”

“That’s fine. Some of your stuff is still at my place anyway, so it makes sense they’d assume you’d stay with me tonight. Besides, Daniel asked me earlier tonight if I wanted to have some time with you tonight to talk and offered to make sure Gwenn got home all right, so I was in on it. Now let’s get in the car and go home.” Becks stepped away from Betty to open the door of the cab for her and so Betty wouldn’t see the smile that crossed his face at Betty referring to her apartment as their home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still don't own Ugly Betty and I still don't want to be sued.

“So you and Daniel seemed to have a good conversation tonight. It looked like things were better between you.” Becks was hanging his coat on the coat hook by the door as he talked. Once he kicked off his shoes as well, he flopped down on the couch.

Betty walked into the kitchen and set about making some tea. “Yeah, they are a lot better now. For the past several weeks things have been pretty awkward between us. They’ve been slowly getting better but after our conversation tonight I think things will actually go back to the way they used to be.”

Becks sat forward on the couch, leaning his elbows on his thighs and resting his chin on his fists. “Did the awkwardness between you two perhaps have something to do with why Daniel asked me whether there was any possibility I was the potential baby’s father?”

Betty stopped what she was doing but didn’t turn to Becks. Still staring at the tile by the kitchen sink, Betty replied, “yes. Daniel stopped by the apartment the day after you left for Istanbul to drop off my phone because I had left it at work. I invited him in to have some tea and he freaked out when he saw your Harvard t-shirt and basketball shorts sitting on the couch. He thought we’d slept together even though I told him we hadn’t. He wouldn’t believe me and instead got upset with me for not telling him.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He even tried to warn me against you.” Betty cringed when she said it, knowing how hard it would be for Becks to hear her tell him Daniel thought that way about him.

Becks cringed at the last line but shook it off because given his and Daniel’s history it shouldn’t be too surprising. He pushed himself up from the couch and walked over to where Betty was still standing, facing the sink. Calmly, he walked up behind her and placed one hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around to look at him as she leaned against the counter. He moved his hands to her waist, drawing closer to her and looking into her eyes.

“Daniel remembers who I was years ago. We both know that’s not who I am anymore but Daniel doesn’t really understand that yet. I’m sorry that me staying with you for those two days caused problems between the two of you; I don’t want to get in the way of your friendship. If I had known it would have caused so much trouble I would have suggested that we actually sleep together so you’d at least get something out of it.” Becks joked to her, winking as they both chuckled.

“You’re not coming between Daniel and I. Daniel just gets over protective sometimes. It’s kind of our usual thing. I butt into his life and he butts into mine. It sometimes gives people the wrong impression, causes problems and even gets on my nerves every now and then. I guess that’s why Gwenn thought I had slept with Daniel.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh yeah, Gwenn thought I was worried the baby might be either yours or Daniel’s. I had to explain to her that it would be impossible for it to be either of yours for the obvious reason.”

Becks chuckled, realizing that Gwenn had actually had the courage to ask the thing that he was secretly worried about—that Betty had slept with Daniel. As much as he would be happy for them it would be a bit difficult to watch his best friend be with the woman he wanted to pursue.

“Well, that’s Gwenn. I’m glad you cleared up the confusion with her, though. I guess our friendship has more than a couple people confused. I promise you I never said anything to Gwenn that would suggest that we had slept together. She just knew that I stayed here last time.”

“I know. It’s fine. She just made the same assumption that Daniel did. Though her assumption about Daniel was weird.”

“Yeah. I will admit, though, that I had a moment when I wondered if you had slept together, too. Daniel was shooting me dirty looks and acting almost jealous towards me. It made me wonder.”

“So what made you realize that I hadn’t?”

“I remembered that you would have called me if you had. Sleeping with one of your best friends who is also your boss seems like something you’d call me at 3am about.” Betty giggled at his comment since she knew she had woken him up in the middle of the night several times in the past couple months with crises like that.

“Well, I’m glad you remembered. I guess you know me pretty well after all.”

“I’m trying to.” Becks replied barely audibly.

Betty reached over and took ahold of the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her until she could wrap her arms around his waist. She rested her chin against his chest so she could look up at him.

“Thank you for what you said tonight about helping me raise the baby if I was pregnant. It made me feel a lot better about the whole thing; like I could actually do it if it came down to that. I’m glad it didn’t, though, because having Matt’s child isn’t something I would want to do.”

“I know but we would have made it work.”

“We would have but I’d rather that I be raising a child that I wanted to have and had with a guy who I loved.”

“I think that’s a reasonable desire, Betty.”

“I figured you might.”

“When it’s the right time I’m sure you’ll be a great Mom. Talking to Justin tonight I could tell how much you’ve helped him.”

“Thanks. So you really meant it when you said you’d support me through anything, I guess.”

“Did you have any doubts?”

“No, but I don’t think I really knew the extent to which you really meant it. I couldn’t have even thought to ask if you would support something like this because I mean, how could I? I didn’t even think it was in the realm of possibility that I might be facing what went on today.”

“I know. I hope that now you know that I will support you through literally anything that happens.”

“I do. I just wish…”

“What?”

Betty took a deep breath to prepare herself. “I wish that you weren’t always gone. I…I want to be with you but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to pursue it when 98% of the time we aren’t even on the same continent. It just seems unfair to us both to jeopardize the friendship we have for a relationship that can’t really be tangible.”

Becks leaned down to lightly kiss her on the forehead and nodded, acknowledging her concern. “It does create a problem, I know. I figured that at some point if we were going to move forward that the question about my work assignments would have to be addressed. I just didn’t want to assume what order it would need to happen. I thought that if I suddenly was working in New York all the time it would put pressure on you but if my being gone is what is standing in the way, that is something that can be fixed.”

“I don’t want you to move to New York just for me.” As much as she meant it, her protestation fell slightly flat because she did want him in New York, even if she did feel guilty about asking him to move there to be with her.

“Well, how about this. I’m not saying I’m moving to New York because I can already tell that you’re concerned about it. But I’m here until the end of January. Why don’t we just enjoy the time we have together here? I have a job in Tokyo that I already committed to but if when I leave or any time I’m in Tokyo you decide you are sure you want to pursue this, then I’m afraid you will find me back in New York once the job is over.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If that is what it takes; if that is what is in the way; that is simple. I can deal with that easily. I mean, I’m a freelancer still so I have endless mobility, also, my career is established enough that I could find a job basically anywhere if I wanted to. Is that all of what is holding you back from us or is there something else? I feel like there’s something else, Betty.”

“Yes and no.”

“Honey, I hate to say it but it really is only one or the other.”

“You’re much more experienced than I am.”

“Sexually? Well, I think we should just come to an agreement about that what happened before doesn’t really matter. It just means that I have some skills that you might like.” Becks gave her a salacious grin and hoped that might keep her from dwelling on the issue too much.

“Not just sexually but romantically, I think. I mean, you haven’t talked a lot about your previous relationships but I can do a google search. I know who you’ve dated and for how long. It’s pretty well documented by the tabloids.”

Becks shrugged. “So I’ve dated some people.   I don’t care about them now, though; I care about you. I know this is a source of concern or hurt for you so how can we fix it? Is there something I can do or is it something that you need to do?”

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. I want to be with you but until we can actually be with each other, I am going to continue to date. If I’m going to ask you to come to New York and you’re going to do it, then I need to do this. OK?”

“Betty, you know I won’t say anything other than yes. Sure, go ahead and do what you want. As has always been true, I will support whatever you decide to do. As long as I still get to see you while I’m here, that’s all I care about. I never thought that I would be spending time with you right now as anything beyond friends.”

“Thank you for understanding. I want you to know that I just want to be able to be with you and be certain about it. I haven’t been very good about that in the past and I know I want and need to be certain now.”

Becks found himself wrapping his arms tighter around her waist, almost as if he hoped that holding her closer would protect them from anything that was outside of the apartment from them. “I understand that. I want you to be certain and I’ll do anything to make sure that you feel comfortable.”

“I know you will. Becks, I hope you believe that I really do want to be with you.”

“I do.”

“Good. We should probably get some sleep, though.”

“I agree. Well, I need to get changed and make up my couch bed, then. Unless you want me to head over to Gwenn’s apartment.”

“No, it’s late and you should stay here. Becks, I’m glad you understand how important all of this is.” Betty stood up on her tip toes and, moving her arms up to wind around his neck, she pulled Becks down for a kiss. It was soft and sensual; like a promise of what would be coming in the future. While neither of them wanted to end the kiss, they did because they knew that if they didn’t end it then, they wouldn’t be able to stop.

Becks reached up to unclasp her arms from around his neck and took her hands in his. “OK, I think it’s time for me to tell you good night. Sleep well and Merry Christmas. I know we’re supposed to be at Gwenn’s at 10am so I was thinking maybe you and I could have a few minutes together around 9am tomorrow?

“Of course. Good night, Becks. Merry Christmas.” With that, Betty kissed Becks on the cheek and then walked to her room to get changed for bed.

Once she heard Becks finish in the bathroom and settle on to the couch for the night, she crept over to the bathroom to finish washing up. Before she returned to her bed she stopped in the living room to turn off a couple lights Becks had forgotten. When she accidentally hit her foot on the dining room table and Becks still didn’t wake up, she knew he was definitely soundly asleep.

She leaned against the wall for a moment, watching Becks sleep and in that moment she silently wished that she were curled up against his chest, sleeping against him and dreaming about their life together. She crept back to her room and wondered what her life might look like by next Christmas.

 

The smell of coffee brewing wafted into her bedroom and woke Betty from a cozy Christmas dream. She stretched and yawned lazily then burrowed under the warmth of the covers a little bit more to block out the slight chill in the air of her apartment. She really did need to remember to talk to her landlord about the heat in her apartment but that though would wait until another day because she wanted to enjoy the happy, warm feeling she had right now.

“Knock, knock, mind if I come in? I at least brought something for you.” Becks stood in the makeshift doorway to her bedroom, already dressed in jeans and a grey sweater and holding two mugs.

Betty, surprised by his presence, sat up in her bed and tried to smooth her hair down. Becks chuckled under his breath, giving her a half smile as she anxiously readjusted. “Sure, come on in. I’m not surprised you’re wearing a sweater; it’s pretty cold in here. I’m actually surprised you were able to sleep in this.”

“I’ve definitely slept in worse conditions; don’t worry about it. When I first started out my jobs often had less than ideal accommodations and I refused to use any of the money I inherited to stay somewhere nicer so I experienced some interesting places. However, I wouldn’t mind joining you for a few at least until my feet warm up a bit.” Becks handed over one of the mugs of coffee.

“Of course; I’m sorry it’s so cold in here.” Setting her mug down on the night stand, Betty scooted over to make room for Becks to sit down next to her on the bed and pulled back the covers.

Becks carefully sat back on the bed, resting against the pillows and pulling the covers around him. “It’s fine but I can’t believe that you are putting up with this. You should be breaking down your landlord’s door for him to fix this.”

“I couldn’t do that on Christmas Day, Becks.”

“I know. I just don’t want you freezing in here.”

“I’m fine and I can take care of it myself. I think you’re the one who’s having trouble with it, which means that you probably didn’t have enough covers for sleeping on the couch. Sorry about that.”

“No problem. Like I said; it’s not the worst I’ve seen. And anyway, I’m warming up now here with you and with the help of the coffee. It’s snowing outside right now—it’s gorgeous.”

“Hopefully that makes going over to Gwenn’s pretty and not dangerous.”

“Agreed. Hey, why don’t we go sit in the living room? You can come see the snow and I have something I want to show you. There are still about four blankets out there so as long as you are still willing to share with me, I think we won’t quite freeze.”

“Sure. We have time.”

They grabbed their coffee and walked toward the living room but stopped in the kitchen first to add some fresh coffee to their mugs since what remained in there was getting cold already from the apartment air. Betty took a seat on the couch and started arranging the blankets around her while Becks walked over to his work bag that was still sitting where he had left it the night before on the floor by the dining room table. He pulled out a small wrapped box and came back to the couch, sitting down with his arm across the back of it and one leg propped up on the cushion so he was facing Betty. He handed the box to her.

“So I wanted to give this to you now before we go to Gwenn’s place. I have something else for you there, too, but I wanted to give this to you while we were alone. I brought it with me last night because I was hoping to find a good time to give it to you at your family’s house then but it never quite worked out. When we got back here I thought it’d be best to wait until it was actually Christmas.”

“Thank you, Becks. You didn’t need to get me anything, though. This is really sweet.” Betty carefully undid the bow and slid the lid off, thinking that the wrapping paper looked familiar. “Did you wrap it yourself?”

“No; Justin actually helped me last night while we were waiting for Gwenn and Bobby to come back. The wrapping paper came from his stash.”

“Wait, you wrapped this at my house? I was there. How did I not see it?”

“Because I was hanging out with Justin in the dining room and you were outside with Daniel. I didn’t have time to wrap it before so I was planning to give it to you unwrapped. When you walked outside, though, I asked Justin if he would help me. He was more than happy to oblige. Otherwise, the wrapping would be pretty clumsy. I’m great with photography but not as great with wrapping paper.” Becks smiled and blushed slightly, thinking back to how Justin had asked him while he helped wrap the present whether Becks wanted to date Justin’s Aunt Betty.

“That’s really cute. I can’t believe you and Justin did that right under my nose but I guess I was a bit preoccupied last night.” Betty pushed aside the tissue paper in the box and saw a small corral pendant with a flower carving hanging from a dainty gold chain. “Becks, this is gorgeous. You really didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. Don’t worry; I didn’t spend a lot on it. I hadn’t planned on getting it but when I was in Paris I was at what was essentially a flea market. I was there originally because I just wanted to take some shots in my spare time of Parisians going about their lives.

I started talking to an older gentleman who had a small table of antique jewelry. I stumbled through a clumsy conversation with him in French about what I was in Paris for. He told me about his life growing up in the Parisian countryside until he met the love of his life and moved to Paris to be with her. As we were talking I saw this and thought you’d like it. He gave it to me for a song, telling me that he hoped that it was for a lady who would become my love because I needed to remember that taking beautiful pictures doesn’t matter if I don’t have someone to share the beauty with.”

Becks picked the necklace up out of the box and leaned forward to put it on Betty. She held her hair back as he reached around and clasped it at the back of her neck.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.”

Becks looked at the pendant and touched it softly as it lay just below Betty’s collar bone, not realizing how his action was making her blush. “I think I was right. It belonged with you.”

Betty was trying hard to control her breathing and had to clear her throat slightly before finally speaking. “I can think of something else that does too.”

Hearing that, Becks looked up in surprise to meet Betty’s eyes. “Really?”

“You already know you do. I told you last night.”

“I know but I still feel like that was a dream. I’ve been hoping to hear you tell me that for weeks. I guess I still can’t believe that you actually do want to be with me.”

“I do. You know that I do.” Betty held his gaze and reached a hand up to stroke his cheek. He turned his head to kiss the heel of her palm. She giggled because it reminded her of their kiss in the Bahamas and how he had kept his eyes on her when he knew they had an audience; making her feel cared for and special instead of feeling awkward and nervous.

“I know. I just like hearing it.” Becks reached out and cupped her face in his hand. He sighed sadly before he continued. “Betty, I want you to know that as much as I love hearing you say that, I understand that you still need to do your own thing until I am actually here in New York. It’s not fair to ask you to not and I won’t hold you to what you said last night and today. I will understand it if you change your mind. Just tell me.”

“Becks, I already know all of this. I know you will support whatever I want. I know that you will understand if I change my mind. If you were willing to help me raise a child that wouldn’t have been yours then I think all of this that you mentioned is kind of a given.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sometimes I overthink things. I’m glad you’re here to make it simple again.”

Betty leaned forward and placed a quick, chaste kiss on Becks’ lips. “Merry Christmas” she whispered.

“Merry Christmas. Now, as much as I hate to say it, we should probably go.”

“Yep, I figured that was coming at some point. Well, I will go get ready really quickly and then we can be on our way to Gwenn’s.”

“OK. I’m already ready to go so I guess I’ll sit here and watch TV or something.”

“Actually, if you wanted something to do, you could put the Christmas gifts over by my tree in a bag or two so I can take them to Gwenn’s and then to Papi’s.”

“No problem, my dear. Now go get yourself dressed so we can slog through this snow!”

Betty rushed off to the bathroom. Becks found two cloth grocery bags to carry the gifts. As he picked them up he checked the tag so he could sort them to make it easier. When he saw one with his name on it, his stomach flipped, wondering about it. He pushed the thought out of his mind and placed it in the bag with the gifts for Daniel and Gwenn.

“Alright, I’m ready to go,” Betty called out and they began their journey to Gwenn’s.

 

“Hey, Gwenn, we’re here!” Becks called as they stomped snow off on the welcome mat. He jiggled his keys free from the door lock and glanced around, noticing that all of the lights were out and the apartment was silent. “That’s odd. I thought she’d be here.” Becks walked into the living room and looked around, noticing how still and silent everything was. There was no indication that the shower was running. He ducked his head into the bedroom and saw that it was completely empty. He couldn’t tell when she was there last but he certainly knew she wasn’t there now.

Betty let out a yelp as someone tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, sorry, Daniel got here early so we went out to grab a few things for breakfast!” Gwenn called out as she pulled Betty into a quick hug. Looking down at Betty she added, “Merry Christmas, Betty. I hope you slept well.” She winked before she moved past Betty and toward the kitchen with the bags in her hand.

_Winking must run in their family. I swear they all do it excessively._

Becks came back out into the kitchen. “There you are! I was starting to worry that maybe I needed to go to Daniel’s place and yell at him for letting my baby sister get lost.” Becks gave Gwenn a quick hug before giving one to Daniel too. “But Merry Christmas to both of you, even if your first present to me was a heart attack.”

Gwenn rolled her eyes and opened the refrigerator to put a few things away. “Sorry, Becker, I realized I didn’t have much in the fridge this morning so when Daniel showed up early we went to go find an open store. It wasn’t easy since it’ is Christmas and all.”

“No problem. I’m just glad you’re OK. I wouldn’t want to have to explain to Gus if anything happened to you.” Becks jokingly wagged a finger at her between putting groceries in one of the cabinets overhead.

“Well, Becks, she had me with her. I would have made sure she was OK.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know you were with her at the store this morning. I mean, for all I knew she was alone all night.”

“Well, I was after Daniel dropped me off until he arrived this morning,” Gwenn added quickly as she rearranged something in the refrigerator.

“Yep. I made sure she got home alright like I promised I would. I just forgot what time we were meeting up this morning and got here much earlier than was necessary, I guess.” Daniel was fiddling with his phone as he talked. Betty didn’t know why but Daniel seemed uncomfortable.

“Well, thanks for making sure she got home alright. I mean, Gwenn, I know you can handle yourself. But you can allow me to worry every once in a while about you, OK?”

“Sure, Becker. Only because it’s Christmas though.”

Daniel glanced up at Betty and immediately his face lit up. “Betty! God, I’m so sorry; I haven’t even said hello to you.” He walked around the kitchen island to her and threw his arms around her waist to hug her. “Merry Christmas. I’m so glad to see you.”

“Me too, Daniel. Are you going to see your mother later today?”

Daniel huffed a bit as he stepped back from her. “Yes. I am going to see her even though Cal will be there. I’m just hoping Matt won’t be. After yesterday I’m not sure I can stand seeing him. I know I probably shouldn’t be mad at him because you weren’t but I still can’t stand the guy.”

“It’s OK. I’m glad you’re going to see your mother for Christmas Day, though. It’s important that you spend it with family, Daniel. As much as she may not tell you, she needs you right now just like she always has and just like you need her. Cal may have her attention for the time being but we both know that she’ll always love you best. You’re her little boy.”

“Thanks, Betty. You know, I had almost convinced myself that I didn’t need to hear any more of your pep talks but I still do sometimes. They always make me feel better.” Daniel gave her hand a squeeze before he turned back to the kitchen. “Great, so what can I do to help?”

“You, Meade? You can stay out. I have seen you try to cook. It was terrible. Leave this to people who might not burn the apartment down.” Becks replied with a mocking glare.

“What? It’s not like you’re any better.” Daniel replied, trying to sound offended but failing.

“Actually, Daniel, I know how to cook. It’s one of the many things I have learned over the years while gallivanting all over the globe and periodically living out of a tent or shack or run down apartment. Gwenn here, though, is still all thumbs like you so maybe you should take a seat on the couch. Betty, as much as I know you can make tea, I am well aware that is the limit to your abilities. Your father is a wonderful cook but you can barely boil water without burning it.”

“Ouch, I resent that.”

“Well, you can pretend you do but I know you don’t. And you know I’m right.” Becks tossed her a playful smile over his shoulder as he began to throw things together into a pan for breakfast.

 

After Becks had served them all breakfast and they had sufficiently gorged themselves, they at down on the floor by the Christmas tree to exchange gifts before Betty and Daniel had to leave. They had agreed on nothing too big; mostly just funny things that meant something to each other.

Daniel handed Betty a small box, which when she opened it she saw was a year’s membership to the Orchid of the Month Club. She laughed and threw the empty box at him.

“What?!” He exclaimed in mock surprise. “I just figured I should get you the ‘I’m sorry I was a jerk’ gift in advance. This way you just know that once a month you’ll get something to make up for my stupid mistakes.”

“Thanks, Daniel. That was almost thoughtful. Hopefully there’s an orchid already on its way here for that.” Betty rolled her eyes pretending to be mad but then still gave him a quick hug.

Daniel handed Gwenn a long, slender box. She looked at it quizzically and then laughed when she opened it to find a fairy wand. “Are you joking me?! I hate you!”

“Well, I did used to call you Fairy Gwenny when you were little. I figured it was about time that you got a wand out of the whole ordeal.”

“Oh, I hated that name. I still do. Mind you you gave me that nickname when you were 21! This would really be a good present if I could use it to turn you into a toad!” Gwenn lightly smacked Daniel over the head with it as all four of them laughed at the scene.

Gwenn tossed a tiny box at Daniel. “Here, have your present.” Inside the box was a clown nose. Daniel shot an evil look at both Gwenn and Becks.

“Very funny. Yeah, yeah, I’m the butt of the jokes. I get it. Alright.” Rolling his eyes he threw the red ball at Becks, “I think it’s your turn.” With that he handed Becks a medium sized flat box. “Gwenn was really the mastermind behind this; I just helped her so I think it’s technically from both of us.”

Becks looked at them both, confused. Still looking at them he unwrapped it and opened the box. His eyes grew wide as he saw the contents of it. “Wow, thank you. I don’t know how you got this. Well, I do…but still. Thank you; this means a lot to me.” Becks looked up at both of them with a small smile and his eyes glistening.

Betty furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what was happening. “What is it?”

Becks closed the box quickly and looked at the top of it. “Oh, just something from a long time ago that I thought was gone but isn’t. I’ll tell you about it later. Anyway, I think Gwenn needs a gift.” Becks leaned over toward the tree and grabbed a larger box wrapped in silver paper.

“Oh, I see you had it wrapped at the mall this year.”

“Yep. I’m still terrible with tape, it seems.” Becks flashed a smile quickly as he handed the box to Gwenn.

Gingerly, Gwenn pulled open the sides of the wrapping paper and slid a beautifully carved wooden jewelry box out. She gasped when she saw it, her eyes welling with tears.

“Becker, this looks so much like Mom’s. I don’t even know how that is possible.”

“Yep. I know this won’t replace the one she had that got destroyed in the fire but I was able to find the shop that made Mom’s after a lot of research. They were able to make one similar to it. I always felt like you should have something of her like this to hold on to. .”

“Thanks, Becker. Way to go making all of this really serious suddenly. God, it’s Christmas. Lighten up, bro.”

Becks laughed momentarily. “Yeah, sorry. It’s one of the hazards of being your lame older brother, I guess.” Gwenn reached out to him and hugged him tightly.

“You’re lame but thoughtful.” Gwenn looked at him for a long moment after the hug was finished. “Alright, Betty, I have something for you.”

She flipped a slender item into Betty’s lap unexpectedly. When Betty tore open the wrapping paper she saw a New Kids on the Block album. “OH MY GOD, BECKS, YOU TOLD HER?!” Betty tried to suppress her giggles long enough to feign anger.

“What?! She’s my sister!” Becks offered defensively.

Betty rolled her eyes. “Whatever, OK, Gwenn. I have something for you too.”

Gwenn opened a small envelope to find a card with a name and number on it. “What is this?”

“I know you’ve been looking for jobs or internships to get you started in advertising now that you graduated so I called one of the assistants to the Director of Advertising at Coach that I know well and passed on your resume. If you give them a call they’ll set you up with an internship with his office.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I mean, even I have a few connections though they’re a little unorthodox in some ways. He trusts her judgment and she made the recommendation.”

“I don’t know how to thank you enough for this. This is a really big deal.”

“Don’t thank me too much; it’s unpaid so you’ll have to figure out another way to pay your bills for a while. It should, however, at least help you make some connections and get experience.”

“Thank you, Betty. This is great.” Gwenn stood up and walked over to where Betty was sitting and pulled her to her feet so she could hug her. “Thank you for this and for making Becker so happy.” Gwenn whispered into her ear before she sauntered back to where she had been sitting on the floor.

Becks tossed a glance at Gwenn and then Betty, wondering what had just happened between the two of them. “Well, I have something for you, Daniel and something for Betty.” He handed them each a box. Betty opened hers and found a beautiful framed photograph of the Eiffel Tower as the sun was rising. Becks explained that he took it one of his last mornings in Paris for her since she had told him before that she wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at sunrise so he thought this would be a good place holder until she could go see it in person. Betty gave him a tearful hug before she handed him a box with his name on it.

“At first I wasn’t really sure what to get you since you travel so much. I didn’t want it to be anything cumbersome but then Gus helped me out with this and it seemed like it would be perfect, even if it does seem like I stole a page out of your book.”

Becks furrowed his brow in confusion, not sure what on earth it could be or what Betty met until he slid the lid off the box. He looked down to see a picture of him, his Mom, his Dad and Gwenn as an infant sitting on the living room couch in their home from just after Gwenn was born. It was one of the last times they did anything as a family and it was one of his last happy memories he had of his parents together.

“Where in the world did you find this?”

“Gus let me into your storage unit and helped me sift through all of your Mom’s old pictures. We finally found an old version of it and even the old negative. I had some of the guys in photography help me out with getting a new copy developed and framed. Everyone needs to have something to remember at least one happy moment from their childhood. I figured that this way it’s still compact enough that you can have it with you when you travel, if you want.” Becks leaned over to Betty, pulling her into a long hug that he wasn’t sure he wanted to end ever.

“This is amazing. Thank you so much.” Becks said, turning the frame over for a moment after Betty had pulled away from him. Quickly he noticed a small envelope taped to the back of the frame that, in Betty’s hand writing, was labeled “An extra key to my apartment for whenever you need it.” He quickly flipped the frame back over before Daniel or Gwenn could see that part. He wasn’t ready for them to see that present quite yet. Gwenn had noticed it before Becks flipped the frame back over but, seeing as Becks was already beginning to turn different shades of red, she figured she’d let that secret stay a secret.

Betty figured it was time to change everyone’s focus so she handed Daniel an envelope with his present in it.

“Daniel, this is really from a lot of people; not just me. Becks, your Mom, Amanda, Alexis, Gwenn and even kind of Cal helped with this.” Daniel gave Betty a confused look at the mention of Cal’s name as he opened the envelope.

“This is a vacation approval notice with my name on it. Betty, what is this?”

“We all know it hasn’t been easy for you to lose Molly and deal with the situation with Connor and Cal. So I was thinking about what might get you away from all of that and make you happy. That’s when I got an e-mail from Alexis asking about how you were doing and talking about how DJ is doing and how he misses you. So the idea hit me: since Alexis has custody of DJ now and I know you really miss him and Alexis, that a trip to see them for a few weeks might help take your mind off everything, give you a change of scenery and cheer you up a bit. It’s not for a few more months because we wanted it to be when DJ would have some time off of school, but it’s all arranged.”

“You did all of this?”

“Well, everyone else did a lot of the work. I just had the idea. Really, your Mom did a lot of it along with everyone else.”

Daniel was stuck in shock for a few seconds before he finally got up and gave them each a hug. “I can’t believe you guys did all of this. Thank you so much. This is the best present anyone could ever give me. You guys are the best.”

 

The four of them cleaned up the wrapping paper on the floor and settled in to the couch and chairs in the living room with hot chocolate to take in the view from the picture window.

“The snow is really coming down out there.” Becks remarked, thinking about how Betty still needed to get out to Queens that afternoon and hoping that she wasn’t planning on taking a cab if it continued like this.

“Yeah, it is. The city looks gorgeous like this but it’s times like these that I’m glad I can take the subway out to Papi’s. I’d hate to have to take a cab in this.”

“I was just wondering about that. I bet the roads are going to be pretty rough. Daniel, are you sure that you’re going to be able to make it out to your mother’s alright?”

“I’ll figure it out. Besides, I kind of have to go. I already promised her. Speaking of which, I should probably get going before it gets any worse out there. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to call the town car.”

“I should probably get going, too. The subway is usually busier than normal on holidays so I might have to wait a bit before I can even find a train that isn’t totally impossibly packed.” Betty started to reorganize her bags and Becks went to get her coat for her.

“If you want, I can drop the stuff you don’t need to take to your family’s house by your apartment for you either today or when you’re back. I mean, I know where the spare key is.” Becks had come back in the room and held her coat up to help her put it on as he spoke.

“That would be really helpful; thank you, Becks.”

Once Daniel returned from making his phone call, Betty hugged them each and thanked Gwenn and Becks for having her over. “Nonsense,” Gwenn responded, “you and your family were nice enough to welcome us all over for your holiday dinner. This is the least that we could do. Besides, I personally owe you for keeping Becks out of my hair so much while he’s here.” Gwenn’s smile was wide and Betty noticed how it seemed like Gwenn was barely containing her happiness.

Becks shook his head and turned to Betty to offer to walk her out. Betty agreed and picked up her remaining things. Becks opened the door to the apartment for her and they walked out, Daniel and Gwenn calling goodbye after them.

“I’m glad I got to see you this morning before you had to go. This may seem silly but I think it would have somehow felt like something was missing otherwise.” Becks looked at the floor of the elevator as he spoke, clearly embarrassed to admit that he had thought that much about it and been hopeful, despite the fact that they were still just friends and had been when they originally made the plans.

Betty smiled at Becks’ sudden shyness at such a simple but sweet admission. “I’m glad I was here, too. I seem to just keep wanting to see you, I guess.”

They stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. They took a few steps and Betty stopped and turned to look at Becks. He stepped toward her and slipped his arms around her waist. Bending down, he kissed her softly and found himself just looking at her, letting himself get lost in her eyes as he stroked her cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Betty. Give your family my best and thank your father again for having Gwenn and I over last night.”

“Merry Christmas, Becks. I will and thank you.”

“For what.”

“Being yourself and understanding what I need and want even if those things may not always seem obvious or logical. I’m lucky to have someone like you in my life.”

“It’s really all you. You bring out the best in the people around you; even hopeless cases like me.” Becks gave her a soft smile and kissed her forehead. “I should probably let you go so you’re not late. Goodbye, Betty.”

Becks stood in the lobby watching Betty until she had turned out of the front doors and disappeared down the sidewalk. He let out a heavy sigh.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so love sick over a woman before, Becks.” Becks heard Daniel’s voice come up beside him.

“I’m not love sick, Daniel.”

“No, I know that face because I’ve made that face. You’re definitely love sick.”

“What makes you think that? Other than apparently the face I’m making?”

“I don’t know; maybe the fact that last night I could tell that if Betty was pregnant that not only would you help her raise the child but you’d also be on the phone immediately, canceling any of your remaining out of town jobs so you could be here with her every step of the way. Or it could be the fact that you apparently woke up before dawn just to spend probably a few hours setting up to get the perfect shot of the Eiffel Tower for her when I know you’re not a morning person. Or it could be the way you watch her every motion and make the same dumb face you were making a moment ago. You love her. You’re in love with her. Everyone can tell.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. The fact that you’re not denying that you love her tells me that you already know it. I’m sure her family has figured out how you feel about her just like Gwenn and I both have.”

“Well, let’s hope that doesn’t mean that Ignacio comes knocking on my door, telling me to stay away from his daughter.”

“I don’t think Ignacio will. He’s a good judge of people and you’re a good guy, Becks.”

“Thanks, Daniel. Do you think Betty has figured it out?”

“That you love her?”

“Yeah.”

“I think she has but she won’t admit it to herself. She wants to be with you, you know, but until you’re in New York at least semi permanently or regularly, I don’t think she wants to get her hopes up.”

“I know. She told me about as much last night. After I told her how I felt about her in the Bahamas I figured that would be one of the biggest stumbling blocks if she did decide she had feelings for me. I didn’t want to just move to New York immediately because I didn’t want Betty to feel like I was trying to push her in one direction or another. The last thing I wanted was Betty to decide to be with me because she felt obligated to. I wanted her to make her own decision free from any feelings of pressure or tension. I couldn’t help wanting to see her, though. That’s why I took that quick job in New York a few weeks after the Bahamas and why when Claire called me about the contract at Meade that I’m doing now, I said yes.

I never thought that by this time she would be saying she thought she wanted to be with me. If I had, I wouldn’t have booked the job in Tokyo at all. I mean, it’s still not definite because she could always change her mind between now and when I leave or even while I am in Tokyo. But if she doesn’t, I’m going to look for jobs that at least have me based here.” Becks looked over at Daniel as he finished his last statement, trying to read whether Daniel was upset or supportive of that.

“What happens until then?”

“Betty and I stay friends. I continue to answer the phone between the hours of 2am and 4am, which seems to be when all of the crises happen and be there for her. And answer at all other times to hear about all of the good and regular things that are going on. And I continue to be bothered by the fact that I can’t actually be here in person to support her.” Becks sighed deeply, finally admitting to himself that as much as he knew he would continue their existing arrangement, it left a dull ache in his stomach that wouldn’t go away.

Daniel looked over at Becks and saw the sadness on the face. “I’m sorry, Becks. I can tell how much that bothers you. But can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before about your feelings for Betty? Why haven’t you told me any of this? We’ve been friends for well over a decade.”

Becks looked down at his hands before he finally answered. “Putting out my feelings to Betty was terrifying and difficult. I mean, I essentially told her that I didn’t want to date anyone but her anymore. It was hard enough to do that; I wasn’t sure I could handle it if I told you and you said I wasn’t good enough for her. I mean, I know I’m not but I didn’t want to hear that from one of my best friends. Daniel, I know you’re protective over her; you’re like her older brother or something, practically. I wasn’t ready to figure out how to deal with my best friend being protective over the woman I love.”

“I can understand that. I guess that Betty probably told you that I freaked out right after you left a few weeks ago. I saw some of your clothes on the couch and made an assumption I shouldn’t have and probably said some things I shouldn’t have said. Becks, you’re a good guy. I know that you and I have a history of partying and doing some things I think we both regret but we’re both different guys than we were then.

Betty is wonderful and I am protective of her and I don’t want to see her hurt. I know you won’t hurt her, though. I’m sorry about how I acted at Ignacio’s last night. I was just surprised at everything and was trying to figure out how to deal with the idea of my two best friends being together, especially when neither one of them seemed to really want to clue me in about it. I felt…left out, I guess. You used to give me a detailed description of almost every woman you met but then you forget to tell me that you practically told Betty you want to marry her.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel. I should have given you a heads up.”

“No, it’s OK. I understand why you didn’t. Look, I have to get to my mother’s but I want you to know that if you need anything, you should let me know. You and Betty make each other happy so if there’s any way that I can help you out, let me know, OK?”

“Thanks, Daniel, I will. Merry Christmas, man. Give Claire my best.”

“I will.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Please don't sue me.

With the holidays over, the days settled in to a steady rhythm of chaos for both Betty and Becks. Becks, Gwenn and Gus came over for Sunday dinner at the Suarez house and during the week they both found themselves scrambling to finish work so they could see each other at least for a little bit.

Since so many photographers were unavailable or on vacation, Becks was swamped with practically back-to-back shoots every day into the evening. Betty was busying with her usual work and helping Daniel salvage the Million Dollar Bra shoot, which had turned into a full blown debacle when they discovered it was double booked. It didn’t help that on top of this, Matt had become more clingy since the holidays.

It started when Betty returned to work right after Christmas. She walked in at 8am to find a bouquet of roses on her desk. Picking up the card, she read the message on it,

_Still thinking about the last time I was with you. Miss you much._

Assuming that they were from Becks, she had texted him to say that they were beautiful but he really didn’t need to get her roses. It hadn’t been until Becks responded with confusion that she considered how strange the message was and that Becks never said ‘Miss you much’. That was something that Matt said. Matt.

_I was clear with him after we slept together that it didn’t mean anything and that I didn’t want to get back together with him. So why are there flowers on my desk?_

Just then, Betty had felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. Turning, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Daniel.

“Hey, a little jumpy this morning?”

“Sorry, Daniel, I was just worried you were someone else.”

“Like who?”

“Matt.”

“I thought things between you and Matt were done.”

“Well, they are for me. Judging by the flowers on my desk that are _not_ from Becks and came with a note that sounds like something Matt would say, I think he may not feel the same way I do.”

“Becks said you had told him that you were still over and not interested after you…you know.” Daniel hadn’t wanted to actually say that they had slept together because there were people in the office and he knew how the Mode rumor mill worked.

“I did. It seems that he didn’t like that answer, judging by this.” Betty motioned to the flowers.

“Well, just talk to him about it. Be firm and tell him you’re not interested.”

“Yeah, I will. But what’s going on? You probably came to talk to me about something else.”

“I wanted to see if you had heard back from Allison about the shoot.”

“I’m calling her later today. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks. OK, I’ll talk to you later.” Daniel had given her arm a squeeze and turned and left.

A minute later, Matt had come into her office and remarked about the beautiful flowers on her desk.

“Matt, I know they’re from you. No one else says ‘miss you much’ to me. We talked about this before; what happened didn’t mean anything. We’re not getting back together.” Betty had put her hands on her hips and tried to remain calm as Matt walked closer to her.

“I know, Betty, but it was so right for us to be together. I know you said you don’t want to get back together but I think if you gave us a chance you would see that we could make it work. I still love you.”

“Matt, it’s not going to happen. I’m not in love with you anymore. It’s better that you move on, OK? We can still be friends, though.”

“Really, we can?”

“Sure.”

“I’d like that.” Matt had smiled at her then and she had wanted to believe that he sincerely wanted to be friends.

“Knock, knock.” Betty had known it was Becks calling from the doorway of her office before she saw him. “Hope this isn’t a bad time.” Becks had said as he eyed Matt, wondering what had just passed between them.

“No, it’s fine. Betty and I just finished talking about the holidays. Betty, can you stop by my office later this morning so we can talk about your two assignments?”

“Yes, I’ll come by in about an hour.” Matt had pat her on the arm and walked out of her office. She had sworn she briefly had seen Matt shoot a dirty look at Becks as he had passed by him that Becks had returned.

Since then, it seemed as if Matt had taken up residency in her office, practically. He needed her opinion on everything and needed to review her work almost constantly. She’d try to make lunch plans with Becks only to have Matt suddenly spring an urgent lunch meeting on her. Usually it turned out that the ‘urgent’ issue or situation wasn’t quite as urgent as he made it out to be. It seemed like she was getting a disproportionately high amount of work from Matt in comparison to the other editors, which meant she spent most evenings in the office. Matt would always be there, take out in hand and offering to share dinner with her and working on the other side of her desk.

On New Years Eve, Becks had planted himself in Betty’s office at 7pm, knowing that if he didn’t, Matt would somehow ensure that Betty ended up ringing the new year in at either her desk or his, eating lo mein with him, otherwise. At 8:30pm, Matt appeared, asking Betty if she could edit another piece before she left because he was worried that they were going to fall behind since everyone would be gone for the holiday the next day. Betty had told Matt she would do it when she got back because she and Becks had plans that they were already late for.

“Oh, yes, friend plans. I forgot how good of friends you two are.” Matt had snidely remarked, casting an angry glare in Becks’ direction. “I guess I’ll just give the assignment to Megan. Have a good night.” Matt had left with a huff.

Betty had jumped up from her desk, grabbing a hanger with her outfit for the night on it and running to the bathroom. She had reappeared a few minutes later, having changed into the black dress and grabbed Becks hand, quickly whispering, “hurry, let’s get out of here before he comes back and somehow invites himself to come with us.”

Becks had laughed even though secretly he really just wanted to ask Betty how long she was going to put up with this. He didn’t because he knew she had no idea how to get Matt to back off without hurting his feelings. He knew that hurting someone’s feelings wasn’t going to be something she could do.

Matt’s increasingly monopolizing behavior continued for two weeks until finally Betty broke down and told Daniel about it while she was in his office claiming it was because they needed to have lunch together and talk about the Million Dollar Bra shoot when in reality it was because she needed to hide from Matt. She knew Matt wouldn’t have the gall to bother her when she was with Daniel. The two hated each other so completely that she knew Matt would rather walk over hot coals than sit through a non-mandatory lunch with him.

When she told Daniel what had been going on, he didn’t seem surprised. She rolled her eyes, knowing that Becks had probably told him about it already. She knew that Daniel and Becks had seen more of each other than she had seen of either of them lately. What Daniel suggested next, though, seemed brilliant to her: get Matt excited about something that he was passionate about aside from her. She jumped on the idea, finding a woman who was running a showcase of emerging artists and convincing her to show Matt’s paintings. With some planning, she had managed to sneak the woman into Matt’s storage space to select the paintings for the show while Betty took Matt out for lunch.

A few days later, on Thursday afternoon, Betty asked Matt if he wanted to join her the next night for an art show she was invited to. “We are friends and isn’t this the type of stuff friends do together? Go to art galleries and other things?” Betty had asked and was happy when Matt said yes, not knowing that they were really going to his art show.

 

The next night they had stopped out for a quick dinner that had felt awkward since Betty could tell Matt wanted to treat it like a date. When he insisted on paying, she rolled her eyes but decided not to fight him about it because she didn’t want to spoil the evening. Matt seemed to take this as an encouraging sign and as they left the restaurant she noticed him finding excuses to touch her. She took a calming breath, reminding herself that she just needed to get him to the art gallery. Gwenn, Becks, Daniel and everyone else would be there—including Matt’s father—and Matt would be so swept up talking to people about his art that he wouldn’t notice her slip away.

They walked together to the gallery and when they entered, Matt’s eyes widened at the realization that his paintings were on display. Additionally, almost every person he worked with or knew in New York was there. Betty’s heart stop when she looked around the room, horrified when she noticed the common theme of the paintings. Her mouth fell open and she felt like she was in a daze as she stumbled toward a table with flutes of champagne. This wasn’t as good of an idea as she had originally thought it was.

Betty didn’t notice Gwenn slip out the front door of the gallery since she was too busy realizing that her face was on every surface on display. Once outside, Gwenn pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial, hoping that her brother would answer her call even though he was supposed to still be on a shoot.

“Hey Gwenn, what’s going on?”

“Becker, you need to get down here right now.”

“Where? The gallery?”

“No, to the fucking Met. Of course to the gallery, you idiot. This is really bad.”

“What? Is Matt a terrible artist or something? That doesn’t seem surprising.”

“It’s not that, Becker. It’s what his paintings are about. I think Betty is going to freak out any moment.”

“What do you mean? What’s the subject of his paintings?”

“Betty.”

“What? Did she come outside? Should I hang up so you can talk to her?”

“No, I mean that Betty is the subject of Matt’s paintings and I mean ALL of them.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I wish. Not only is she the subject but also they’re not exactly casting her in the best light, either. One of them has her as King Kong on the Empire State Building.”

“Well, I guess that’s one way to cope with residual feelings for your ex. Betty is the only person I know who could possibly have the type of luck where she tries to surprise the guy with a gallery showing of his art to help him move on only to find that it’s all about her. Did Betty possibly see these paintings before? Someone had to select them for the show.”

“Becker, judging by her reaction, she definitely had no clue about them. She told me before that the woman who runs the gallery picked out the paintings and Betty wasn’t there for it. She was clearly clueless.”

“Shit! Why is that Hartley guy such a fuckwit? OK, let me wrap up this shoot really quickly and I’ll be right there. Try to keep Betty calm and get her a drink but don’t let her have more than one before I get there—if she has too many it will just amplify her want to yell at him.”

“No problem, bro.”

“Hey Gwenn?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Daniel there yet?”

“No, he’s not.”

“OK, you should text him ASAP and if Daniel gets there before me, make sure he doesn’t leave Betty’s side. She’s going to need him. Also, under NO circumstances should you let her near Matt and certainly not alone. Got it?’

“Aye aye, Captain. Shoot me a text when you’re on your way here.”

“Will do, see you soon.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Becks jumped out of a cab in front of the gallery, tossed money to the driver, and sauntered up the stairs. He stopped for a moment just outside the door to the gallery to smooth down his shirt and suit jacket and then calmly opened the door, trying to appear as though he was completely relaxed and hadn’t hurried there. Like he hadn’t proclaimed that he had an emergency and had to wrap the shoot in 5 minutes.

The paintings were like a slap in the face, seeing Betty on every surface and in so many different and bizarre settings. Becks had to admit that the intimacy of some of them bothered him but overall, the entire scene seemed pathological more than anything else. The deer in one of the paintings even had braces.

_Holy shit, I just thought this guy was clingy and overly focused on Betty but, seriously, this guy is totally nuts and obsessed. That’s…only incredibly alarming. How do these guys find her? Oh, because she always tries to be sweet and supportive to everyone. It’s like moths to a flame._

Becks looked around for Betty or Gwenn or Daniel or anyone. Walking halfway through the front room, he spotted the back of Gwenn’s head.

“Hey Gwenn,” she turned at his voice and gave him a quick hug as he scanned the room and asked, “where’s Betty?”

“Relax, she’s just in the bathroom. She’ll be right back and don’t worry—Matt is 15 feet behind us. I’m keeping an eye on him. I have been carefully steering her away from him since we talked. I wasn’t expecting you to get here so fast.”

“Great. Yeah, I kind of said I had an emergency and had to leave so we wrapped up pretty quickly. Any sign of Daniel?”

“Not yet. I texted him after I got off the phone with you but it’s been total radio silence from him.”

Becks frowned, trying to think of why Daniel wouldn’t respond when this was happening. “There must be something going on at Mode. I know Cal Hartley—Matt’s Dad—has been causing problems for Daniel. He must be dealing with it and I didn’t have time to stop by and see if he was around on my way out. Since Claire and Cal were supposed to be here but aren’t, I’d say there’s a high possibility that is what is going on. Frankly, if he’s not here, it’d better be because he’s dealing with Cal.”

“Awe, you’re such a good non boyfriend, Becker—even mad at your oldest friend for not being here for her. It’s cute.” Gwenn elbowed him in the ribs while Becks rolled his eyes at her.

“Becks! You’re here!” Betty appeared in front of them, having just returned. Becks immediately swooped her into a tight hug. He could feel Betty’s arms around his waist, gripping him urgently as she buried her face in the front of his jacket.

“Of course I’m here, Betty. I told you I’d come as soon as my shoot was over. I’m just here earlier than I thought I would be because it wrapped early. I’m glad I didn’t miss this, especially the painting of the deer with braces.” Becks stroked her hair gently, noticing that her grip wasn’t loosening at all.

He thought he heard a muffled reply but couldn’t tell what it was since her face was still buried in his jacket. He placed a light kiss on the top of her head and leaned down a bit to whisper to her, “Betty, is everything OK? I couldn’t understand what you said before. Can you tell me what’s up? Is it the deer? Because I think they’re kind of creepy, too.”

Betty pulled back slowly with a slight smile on her face, “they are creepy, aren’t they?” Becks sighed, relieved that it seemed like it was going to be OK.

“They are. But you know some of these paintings aren’t really bad. I mean, the one of your chest over there has a certain appeal to it. I can understand why it would inspire him.” Becks looked down at Betty with a grin, trying to stifle a laugh. Betty let go of him, putting her face in her hands.

“This is so bad. It’s so humiliating. I was just trying to help him move on and instead this monstrosity happened.” Becks carefully pried her hands off her face and tried to get her to look at him.

“Hey, it is what it is, Betty. The guy has some issues, clearly. That’s about him, not you. You had no way to know that this would happen or that he had even painted these.”

“But it’s still embarrassing. And I think, Becks, that if you look around it’s pretty clear this _is_ about me.”

“Right. Yes. There’s no getting around the embarrassing aspect of this but hey, the show only goes for another hour or so and I’m sure people will forget about this in no time.”

“Nope, I’m taking pictures, Mr. Hunky Photographer. I never want to forget about this.” Marc walked in with his smartphone, snapping pictures at each canvass.

“And I’m buying my very own Betty Bust for my wall. Aren’t you jealous?” Amanda held up a painting of Betty’s chest in a low cut shirt.

Betty groaned and turned away, “I think I need to use the bathroom again.”

Gwenn glanced at Becks and seeing him nod to go after her, followed Betty out of the gallery. As soon as they were out of eye sight, Becks snatched Marc’s phone from his hands and scrolled through, deleting the photos.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hunky Photographer, but those are my Betty Mementos. Get your own. Though from what I hear you don’t have to because you get them every night.”

“Marc, if I see these anywhere or hear about them from anyone, the next time I see you you’ll wish I was just going to delete photos from your phone. I swear.” Becks handed Marc’s phone back, still angry at Marc’s callousness.

“Oooh, you’re feisty when you’re worried about your little Chimichanga.”

“That’s really culturally insensitive. Never say that again.”

“You’re even cuter when you’re kind of testy, you know.” Marc raised his eyebrows at Becks but as he looked across the room, the smile fell from his face. Betty was coming back from the washroom and Matt had decided to seize the moment to talk to Betty. “Impending Betty disaster at two o’clock.”

Becks noticed it a second after Marc and tried to seem casual as he crossed the room to stand next to Betty, hoping that people wouldn’t notice that he was strolling over to what might turn into a pretty gruesome argument.

“What is wrong with you, Betty? This is humiliating.” Matt spit out, grabbing Betty’s shoulder to try to stop her and make her face him. Betty spun around, first shocked and then immediately angry.

“You are seriously asking what’s wrong with _me_? I’m not the one painting braces on deer or turning me into Medusa or King Kong. The question that should be asked is what is wrong with _you,_ Matt?”

“There’s nothing wrong. These were painted in private. They were my private thoughts and feelings.”

“So this is what you think of me? That I’m clutching you in my harry hand and terrorizing the city? That’s really your opinion of me?”

“I painted most of these when we were broken up. I did paint some nicer ones, too, while we were still together.”

“Yeah, but they’re not selling for as much. Matt, I can’t believe this.”

“What are you talking about? These were never supposed to be shown to anyone. I didn’t ask for this. I painted these for myself. To express myself.  You can’t tell me you’ve never written in your journal something bad about me. I love you and you don’t love me. That’s bad enough but did you really have to go and put this on display for the world to see?”

“Matt, I didn’t know the paintings were, well, this. I was just trying to be a good friend and help reignite your passion for something else to help you move on. I didn’t know this was going to be the result. I was just trying to be a good friend.”

“Yeah, well stop because you’re terrible at it. I don’t want you to be my friend. Just stop.”

Matt immediately stomped past her and out the door before he could see the hurt look on her face. Becks glanced around and noticed that only a few people were staring at them, which was at least a good sign. Nervously, Becks, Gwenn, Amanda and Marc exchanged glances and then looked back at Betty, trying to gauge her reaction.

“I can’t believe it. He thinks I’m terrible. I tried to do something for him and he hates me for it.”

“Don’t listen to him, Betty. It was totally worth it for your ta-tas to be on display for the world. It’s a public service, really. You’ve been hiding the goodies all this time. It was time that we all know.” Amanda smiled at Betty, took Marc’s arm and turned to leave the gallery.

“Well, I guess that was kind of a compliment, even though it was weird.”

“Yeah, I thought the night was already odd but that definitely took it to a new level,” Gwenn downed her glass of champagne and decided that maybe now would be the time to actually look at the art the show was about, “I thought I saw a friend of mine from school. I’m going to see if I can find them.”

Becks knew that Gwenn was just making up an excuse to give them a moment to themselves and he wanted to use the moment to see if he could figure out how extensive the damage was from all of this. “So, I’d ask if you ever modeled for these but I’m pretty sure the Medusa one already answered that for me.”

Betty rolled her eyes at him and grabbed another glass of champagne.

“OK, bad joke. Do you want to talk about all of this?” Becks motioned at the room.

“I don’t know where to start with all of…this.”

“Well, is there anything I can do to help?”

“I kind of just want to get out of here and go somewhere I won’t have to see a single person from here.”

“OK. I can get you a cab to take you home if you want unless I’m exempt from the list of people you don’t want to see.”

“You know I didn’t mean you, Becks. But yes, let’s get out of here.”

“OK. How about this—we’ll get a cab and on the way to your apartment we can pick up some ice cream and maybe a movie to watch on your couch. Would that help?”

“Yes. How do you know exactly how to make me feel better?”

“What can I say, it’s a gift. Let me just go tell Gwenn that we’re leaving. Hold tight and I’ll be right back.”

 

It only took a twenty minute cab ride and a quick stop at a convenience store to make the art show feel less important.

_I’m a successful, well traveled, millionaire photojournalist and for some reason preparing bowls of ice cream makes me happier than most of what I’ve done for the past several years. God. Being in love does weird shit to your head._

“Did you get lost in there?” Betty called from her seat on the couch. Becks smiled to himself at how demanding she was being. Earlier, he had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves before he had headed to the kitchen. Given the temperature of the apartment, he almost wished that he had kept his jacket on.

“Yep. The kitchen is too big and confusing. I think I may need you to come here and help me find my way out.”

“Whatever. Hurry it up in there.” Becks swore he could practically hear her rolling her eyes at him.

“OK, OK. Did you figure out how to uncork the wine?”

“Yes. It’s ready to go. All that is missing is you and the ice cream.”

“Hint taken, Betty. I’ll be right there.” Becks threw spoons in their bowls and headed toward the couch, handing one bowl to Betty who was already seated on the couch. “Here you go, Miss Suarez. Anything else before I join you on the couch?”

“Yeah, can you hit the lights and grab the remote?”

“No problem.” Becks briefly considered whether to only turn off one, half or all of the lights. _You’re over thinking this. Why are you over thinking something like this? They’re only lights. Just turn them all off and sit back down before you make this into something awkward._

Becks tried to look casual as he strolled around, turning off all the lights, snatching the remote control from the top of the TV and dropping it in Betty’s lap as he sat down next to her.

“Thanks. Wow, I never noticed how dark this apartment could be. Good thing we’re not watching a scary movie.” Betty handed Becks a glass of wine as she started fiddling with the remote.

“How do you know we’re not?”

“Uh, because the last time we watched a scary movie together, you swore we never would again because I called you every 15 minutes the rest of the night, terrified something was going to attack me. But also because I chose the movie.”

Becks remembered that night from when he first got into town. They had watched the movie and as soon as he left to go back to Gwenn’s apartment the phone calls had started coming in from her. In retrospect he wished he had just turned around when he got the first phone call and come back to Betty’s place to spend the night. Instead, he laid on the couch awake all night, repeatedly convincing her that nothing bad was going to happen. The next night he did finally just stay the night on her couch, telling her that it would be better for them both that way. “Yeah, that sucked. Good thing you chose this time. What are we watching?”

“Stranger than Fiction. Daniel recommended it to me a long time ago but I never got a chance to see it. You won’t hate it—Will Farrell’s in it.”

“Hey, not hating it sounds like a good start but I hope that’s not why you chose it. You didn’t need to choose a movie you thought I might like, even if Daniel did recommend it.”

“Nah, if I wanted to choose a movie you’d like, we’d be watching Dune right now.”

Becks’ jaw dropped in surprise and he stared at Betty while she kept her attention on navigating through the DVD player menu. “How do you know that?”

“Ahem, well, a few weeks after my first Fashion Week, I started to remember bits and pieces from the night you let me stay with you. One thing I distinctly remember was partially watching E.T. and you confessing that you’re a scifi geek. A quick call to Gwenn a few weeks ago and I knew your dirty little secret. All I can say is that I have more respect for you that your favorite is the cheesy SyFy channel version. Don’t worry, I won’t call Suzuki and tell him about it.”

“I’m glad I can count on you to keep my secrets, Betty. How about we start the movie. By the way, it’s cold in here. Share your blanket with me?”

“OK but no funny business, Mr. Scott.” Betty wagged her finger at him and tried to look serious. As much as Becks wanted to kiss her at that moment, he knew that was precisely some of the ‘funny business’ she was warning against. Instead he re-situated the blanket over his lap and tried to appear nonchalant about being there with her.

“Miss Suarez, you know that I would never dream of doing anything untoward. Don’t believe what page six prints. I just don’t want to freeze in here since you still haven’t talked to your landlord about the heat. At least we don’t have to worry about the ice cream melting.” Becks made a show of nestling into the couch more and pulling the blanket closer around him.

Betty giggled and started the movie. Partway through the movie she found herself moving closer to Becks and leaning her head against his shoulder. She had pulled her legs up on to the couch and tucked them under her. She noticed how Becks was sitting perfectly still as if he might disturb her if he moved a muscle. She smiled to herself and slid her hand down his arm, slipping her hand inside his. He gingerly entwined his fingers with hers and instantly it seemed as if he relaxed entirely as he leaned his head against hers.

As the movie ended he felt his shirt was damp against his shoulder. His suspicions of why were confirmed when he heard her sniffle quietly. He pulled his head up to look at her and, releasing her hand from his, picked his arm up to put it around her and pull her into his side. He raised his other hand up, wiping away the tears on her cheek and then softly stroking it.

“Betty, what’s wrong? The movie wasn’t really sad.” He asked it in a quiet, caring tone even though he already knew the answer to the question.

“I guess I’m still a little upset about the show. No, really I am upset that I slept with Matt in the first place. It just complicated everything and now I don’t think I can make it better. I just wanted to be a good friend to him but if I really think about it, I guess that was always pretty naïve to think that it could work. I was being stupid.”

“You weren’t being stupid. You just give people the benefit of the doubt. You can’t blame yourself for believing in people just like you can’t blame yourself if they do something different. They’re responsible for what they do; not you. Matt is responsible for how he acts. He made the decision to sleep with you just as much as you did. You were honest with him afterwards about what it did or didn’t mean and he’s responsible for his own actions.” Becks looked at her with a look that was desperate for her to understand and see that he was right about this.

“I’m just so clumsy, romantically. I feel like all I do is hurt people.”

“That’s not true, Betty.”

“No, it is. I hurt Gio, I hurt Matt and I’m still hurting you, having you wait for me while I keep doing things like this.”

He couldn’t stand to think that Betty believed she was hurting him and deep down, he was worried that was what she was really worried about. Becks pulled Betty closer to him and turned so he was facing her. “Betty, you’re not hurting me. I chose this for myself. No one is forcing me to do anything; no one is forcing me to want to be with you or to wait for you. I want to do it because I want to be with you. You’re not hurting me, OK?”

“But Becks I just feel like—“ Becks pulled Betty closer to him and kissed her urgently before she could finish her thought. He focused everything he could—his desperation to be with her, all of the longing he had been feeling toward her for months and every fiber of love that had been growing for her all this time—into the kiss and when his tongue met hers, he couldn’t help but lean into her more so he could prolong it.

He felt her arms go around his neck, pulling him toward her and with her until her back softly pressed back onto the couch, still kissing him with him laying across her, his body tightly pressed against hers. He ran his hand across her stomach, pulling at the hem of her shirt. He gently slid his hand beneath it and up her back, feeling her arch against him at his touch, pressing more urgently against him and stirring his desire to be with her even more.

That suddenly jolted him out of his hypnotized state and he realized what he had just done. Quickly, he pulled his hand back and pushed himself back into a sitting position at the opposite end of the couch from Betty. He grabbed the blanket and spread it over his lap with one hand as he scrubbed his reddening face with his other hand. He kept his eyes shut tightly, not wanting to look at her.

“I’m so sorry, Betty; I shouldn’t have done that. You were upset and I took advantage of that. I…I know we’re only friends still. I promise that won’t happen again. I’m so sorry.”

Becks could feel the weight shift on the couch as Betty got up and padded over to him, sitting back down next to him and leaning across his lap. He opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with her as she braced herself with one arm against the armrest of the couch.

“You don’t need to be sorry. I wanted you to kiss me and I hope you don’t really intend to keep that promise you just made.” Betty responded in a low tone, holding his gaze and placing a hand on his chest.

Becks felt a slight moan slip from the back of his throat as she unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and slipped her hand inside it, letting her hand rest there.

“But Betty, we’re just friends. I don’t want to jeopardize that. You said yourself that you didn’t want to be more until I was in New York.”

“You’re in New York now.”

“I don’t think that was what you meant originally, though.”

“I know it wasn’t but I want to be with you, Becks.”

“You want to be with me or you want to have sex with me?”

“Both? “

Becks laughed for a moment. “As much as I love hearing you say that and as much as I know we _both_ know that I want to sleep with you and be with you, I’m not going to have sex with you tonight. You’ve had a draining day today. I just want to comfort you and make you feel better, OK?”

“OK. Will you stay with me tonight, then? I promise I’ll try to behave around you but I really don’t want to be without you tonight.” Betty looked at him nervous and hopeful for him to agree. She was relieved when she saw a slow smile form on his lips.

“Of course I will, Betty. Your couch and I are practically old friends by now.”

“No, Becks, I want you to stay with me. I…I uh, was hoping you could hold me tonight.” She looked down, keeping her eyes fixed on the place where her hand was pressed against his chest.

“Of course I’ll hold you, Betty. Honey, you know I’ll do anything you ask. But we should probably set some rules here because we are just friends. It’s probably not helpful to you if I keep kissing you all of the time.”

Betty glanced up at him, a mischievous smile on her face, “what? We can’t be friends who kiss?”

Becks rolled his eyes at her, wishing that he wasn’t leaving for Tokyo in a few weeks so he could give in and be with her the way he wanted to and the way he knew he wanted him to, too. Instead, he had to stay focused on being her friend.

“No, Betty, we both know that neither of us wants this to become a ‘fun buddies’ situation. I’ve had fun buddies and that’s not what I’m interested. I know it’s not what you’re interested in either; not really.”

“No, it’s not. I just wish things were different. That’s all.”

“I do too, but they will be soon. For now, how about we head to sleep? I can at least hold you tonight and we’ll let the other things figure themselves out later, OK?”

“I’d like that.”

Once they were settled into bed with Becks lying on his back and Betty curled against his side with her head laying on his chest, they both fell into a peaceful sleep. The situation at the gallery fell away from their minds, leaving just a hope that the ensuing weeks would pass quickly so Becks could do his remaining job in Tokyo and come back to her in New York.

The following Monday, Betty left for work smiling and looking forward to the week. After spending the weekend with Becks, she was looking forward to the Million Dollar Bra shoot this week. Also, this week she was supposed to have her orthodontist appointment when she would be getting her braces off.

Instead, things went quite differently. On Monday, Matt announced his immediate departure from Mode in order to go do volunteer work in Africa. While Betty was relieved that he was leaving and hopeful that he hand found something he could devote himself to, she was nervous about the uproar it would cause in the magazine since the Million Dollar Bra shoot was happening that Thursday. Matt may not have been essential for the shoot but having a drastic change days before a critical shoot was never good. Everyone scrambled to make up the work that normally would have been done by Matt, which meant that they all spent several late nights in the office that week.

Then, on Thursday morning, her orthodontist appointment went array and it looked like her braces were staying put for at least another day. She made her way to the Million Dollar Bra shoot, only to be stopped by security. After hitting her head on the floor and momentarily passing out due to a misunderstanding, Betty woke up to find that she was laying on the floor with Becks sitting next to her, looking down at her with a look of concern.

“Oh hey, there you are. We were worried for a moment there. You were out cold for a couple seconds. How are you feeling?”

“I think I’m OK, though I have a bit of a headache.”

“I’m sure you do. Here, let me help you up and we’ll find some aspirin for you. We’ll need to get upstairs and start the shoot soon. We don’t have much time.”

Helping Betty to her feet, Becks smiled gently at her, breathing easier than he had been when he saw her fall and during the subsequent seconds when she was passed out. After one of the assistants handed Betty a bottle of water and some aspirin, Becks took her by the hand and led her up to the third floor. Once there, they walked into a raucous between Daniel and Eve’s entourage, who were saying that the bra needed to leave. One of the photographers had already packed up and left, deciding that it was clear the shoot was off.

Betty knew that somehow she could fix this if she talked to Eve or her assistant, Allison. She took off, zig zagging between people in an attempt to run after Eve, and collided with the mannequin that was displaying the bra. How she managed to get her braces stuck on it, she will never know or understand. No one else in the crowd will either. Luckily her orthodontist was in the building and ended up removing her braces so the bra could be removed undamaged. Once done, Eve consented to have the bra remain for a couple more hours so they could do the shoot. Despite a couple of the photographers leaving it was fine since Becks, who had been contracted for the shoot anyhow, was still there and ready to go.

Betty sat back in a chair to watch the shoot. She ran her tongue over her now braces-free teeth. Becks would glance back at her every now and then, flashing a smile over his shoulder to her that she would return instantly, making him blush before he returned to his job. Once the shoot was done he walked over to her and took a few shots of her smiling to commemorate the day.

“Oh god, please be sure to separate those out; those should _never_ have to be seen by anyone. We don’t want readers or editors struck blind by furby here, even if she does look more like the ‘after’ photo now.” Marc remarked, taking a seat next to Betty.

“Marc, what do you need?” Betty asked, irritated.

“Oh, I just wanted to let you and Mr. Hunky Photographer know that the bra needs to leave in five minutes to get on the Meade jet so it can fly to Cairo.”

“That’s fine; we were just wrapping up. I got all of the shots I could need for this. Now I just want to get out of here and celebrate. Betty, what do you say?”

“I can’t; I actually have to leave my family is having a little party for me tonight. Raincheck?” Betty jumped down from her chair to pick up her bag.

“Sure.” Becks hid his disappointment as she walked away. _Soon._

 

A week later Becks stopped by her apartment in the morning to say goodbye on his way to the airport.   He stood inside the door, looking at her for several moments before speaking. He wanted to make it a quick goodbye because otherwise he wasn’t sure he would be able to bring himself to leave for Tokyo at all.

“What I said before still stands. If you want me to come back to New York to be with you after this job, I will. Just let me know, OK?”

“I do, Becks. I hate asking you to move to New York for me, though.”

“Don’t. I’d be coming here as much for me as for you, Betty. Besides, like I told you before, I have a lot of mobility with what I do. You’re not asking me; I’m offering. If, however, you change your mind at any point, you let me know. I don’t want you to feel any pressure or like you’re locked in to this just because you said yes now.”

“I know, Becks. I’ll tell you if I change my mind but I’m not going to.”

Becks grinned down at her before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead and pulling her into a tight embrace. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. So, I’ll be gone for a few weeks in Tokyo but I’ll be back before you know it. Until then, you’re free to do as you wish as we discussed. I’ll always support any decisions you make. If you need anything, you know how to reach me.”

“I do.” Betty gave him another hug before pulled away from her to leave. “Becks?”

“Yes?”

“Be safe, please. I want you to come back in one piece, you know.” Betty blushed a little as she smiled at him.

“I will. I’ll see you soon. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

With that, Becks walked out the door, closing it behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own Ugly Betty. Please don't sue me.

From: BScott

To: BSuarez

Subject: What Happened?

Hey,

I’m not sure what I said earlier that upset you but I’d like to at least try to understand. Anything that makes you hang up on me is cause for concern in my book.

OK, if I’m 100% honest, I think I might know what made you upset.

I’m not trying to get in the way of your romantic life. I was just trying to be a good friend and point out that any time two people mutually suggest a “secret” relationship it means something bad is going on. I know this because I used to be the guy who said shit like that. Remember how during Fashion Week I told you Henry was hiding something when he disappeared mid day after making it clear he was into you? I was right about that and I have a feeling that I’m right about this too. Part of me wonders if you’re mad at me because some piece of you knows I’m right about Zach, too.

You said earlier that you thought I didn’t like you being with him because I was worried it might make you change your mind about you and I. As I’ve always told you: whether you want to be with me or not remains your decision and I will support you like I always have about everything else. If you end up changing your mind about me coming to New York after Tokyo I will understand.

I don’t know this Zach guy and if he’s important to you I’d like to eventually get to know him. But if he’s important to you and you’re important to him then why are you both hiding your relationship? I know you’re worried about Daniel being upset with you but that hasn’t stopped you before. Daniel’s an adult and your best friend. I don’t think it will be a big deal so that makes me go back to my original concern about if something else is going on.

I don’t think you should be hidden. You make everyone and everything brighter and better for everyone. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hide someone like that.

My own bias aside, I don’t want my concern to get in the way of us being friends. My opinion about him doesn’t matter ultimately. What does matter is whether you’re happy.   That’s enough for me. You know I’ll always support what you want and be happy for you, even if I don’t agree.

Please give me a call so I can make this better,  
B

 

From: DMeade

To: BScott

Subject: Ezra or Zachary?

Becks,

Is it just me or does Betty’s playwright guy look a lot like Ezra? It’s been so long that I’m not sure but I thought he looked familiar when Betty introduced me to him at Mode. He got really uneasy when I met him but at first I thought it was just because he was dating Betty and she was concerned I would think it was a conflict since she’s writing a profile on him.

I’ve attached a picture. I hope it’s not him—I kind of encouraged Betty to date him since you told me that you were encouraging her to date while you’re in Tokyo.

Stay safe,  
Daniel

 

From: BScott

To: DMeade

RE: Ezra or Zachary?

Holy fucking shit, that is Ezra. That ass clown is lucky my arms aren’t long enough to reach across the ocean and slap him.

DON’T tell Gwenn. Call Betty and warn her, though. I’ll try to get ahold of her, too.

Who knows what else this guy is up to on the side.

Keep my posted,  
B

 

From: DMeade

To: BScott

RE: RE: Ezra or Zachary?

Goddamn. She left to go to his premier before I could talk to her. He didn’t take her as his date because he claimed he was already taking his Mom so she’s surprising him at it. I tried calling and texting but she’s not responding.

Any luck on your end getting ahold of her?

 

From: BScott

To:DMeade

RE: RE: RE: Ezra or Zachary?

None. I hope this doesn’t blow up. She’s not taking my phone calls still because I told her a couple days ago that I thought it was strange that he wanted to keep their relationship a secret.

I really hope for both Betty’s sake and his that he really is taking his Mom to the premier.

Let me know if you hear anything,  
B

 

From: BScott

To: BSuarez

Subject: Is this you?

Hey,

One of my colleagues forwarded a link to a Youtube video in which a young, douchey playwright gets his ass handed to him by a feisty brunette after the premier of his new play. It ends with her punching him and walking away. She looks an awful lot like you.

Coincidence?

Call me,  
B

P.S.

Remind me never to really piss you off. Your right hook is clearly not to be trifled with.

 

From: ATannen

To: MStJames; BSuarez; DMeade

Subject: You have to see this

Hey All,

Our little burrito certainly has become quite the internet sensation. I think we might have to change her name to the Boxing Burrito.

What the current videos online seem to lack, though, is the angle that I got on my camera phone. It finally answers the question of what REALLY happened after our little boxing burrito punched Hipster Playwright.

The link to my video is below.

Enjoy,

Amanda

 

From: DMeade

To: BScott

FWD: You have to see this

The link at the bottom of this e-mail is what Amanda recorded on her phone of the fight between Betty and Zach. Trust me when I say you need to watch it.

 

 

Betty sat down at her dining room table with her breakfast and a cup of coffee and clicked on the link Amanda sent her that led to Amanda’s camera phone video of Betty’s last argument with Zachary that Amanda had posted on youtube. Even though Amanda had just posted it at midnight the previous night and the incident had happened only hours before that, the video already had over 120,000 views. That paled in comparison to the millions of views the other videos had already received. She even noticed that the tabloids had picked up pictures of Zachary on the ground after she punched him.

She still couldn’t believe that the stupid playwright had told her he was taking his mother to the premier and then, when he showed up with some gorgeous socialite, tried to defend his actions to her. Claiming that he had to do it for his career was just icing on the cake. What made it worse was that Becks was right about the whole thing and she had gotten so mad at him when he warned her that Zachary wanting a “secret” relationship was a bad sign. She pushed the thought about Becks out of her mind for the time being, though.

She queued up the video on her laptop and grabbed her coffee to sip while she watched.

She didn’t pay attention to the first part of the video but toward the end she more intently studied the screen because she saw that it was about twenty seconds longer than the others that had been posted.

She saw Zachary reach out to her, trying to stop her from walking away, saying, “come on, I like you, Betty. Wait for me after the show. Don’t think about it. Be impulsive. Do what you want to do.”

She cringed slightly as she saw the image of herself pull her arm back and punch him in the face. Zachary fell to the ground and Betty turned away from him and began to walk away. This was usually where the videos cut off but this one continued on to the next part.

Zachary, still sitting on the floor, reached out in her direction and called out, “Not all of us have the luxury of being able to be seen with just anyone like Beckett Scott does.”

Betty stopped in her tracks and every muscle in her body appeared to tense. With her jaw set, she turned to look at him again, containing her only slightly visible anger as she spat, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Even with the low quality of the video Betty could hear Zachary’s quick, mocking laugh, “I’ve seen the pictures on page six of you with Beckett and even Daniel Meade. I’m not like those guys—I can’t be seen with just anyone I want and still expect to sell tickets. I don’t have that type of money or following.”

She appeared to calmly and slowly fold her arms across her chest as she cocked her head to the side and took her time responding. Steadily she started in on him. “You’re right. You’re not like Daniel and you’re certainly not like Becks either. The difference is that I don’t feel like they’re embarrassed by me in public or anywhere else. I know that when all of this is over, I can call Becks and know that he’ll be there for me no matter what and he would never, ever hide me. Yeah, I agree; you’re nothing like that.”

With that, Betty turned and marched out of the building as people began to quietly applaud her.

Betty’s computer screen went black as the video ended. She sat back in her chair, wishing that none of this had ever happened.

_Why does this stuff always seem to happen to me?_

She glanced back at her e-mail, noticing several from Daniel and Becks that she had ignored the day before, just like she had ignored their calls. Yesterday, she had figured that once Daniel knew about her dating Zach, he had probably called Becks and Becks would have inevitably convinced Daniel of his concerns regarding Zach. Betty hadn’t wanted to deal with Daniel’s over protectiveness the night of the premier so she had simply avoided them both.

 

Just as she was about to start clicking through the e-mails, her phone started ringing and she looked over to see a picture of Daniel on the screen. She picked it up to answer.

“Hi Daniel. What’s going on?”

“Hey Betty, I just wanted to call and see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing about as well as I could be, considering that I was just humiliated in front of several hundred people and now there’s a video going viral that documents my humiliation for posterity.”

“Well, the good news is that the press loves you. All of the tabloid coverage is great. It’s about how the Mode Junior Features Editor put a nouveau riche, only semi-famous and somewhat talented playboy in his place. Betty, they’re talking about you like you’re a hero.”

“Great. Will that protect me if Zach presses charges against me?”

“That won’t happen. Since it talks about your position at Mode, Mom already had the legal team call Zach’s publicist and lawyer and settle it out. The publicity is going to help him, too, so he was persuaded to sign an agreement that he wouldn’t press charges or sue.”

“That’s good to hear,” Betty responded happily but a bit distractedly since she was also skimming through tabloid articles of the incident. “You know, Daniel, the coverage may seem kind to me but it’s not as kind to you and Becks. You forgot to mention that a lot of them cite my work with you and my ongoing friendship with Becks as examples of how ‘this plain Jane has worked reformation magic on other playboys’. They even speculate on whether I’m dating one or both of you.”

Daniel leaned his head back against the head rest of the town car and closed his eyes for a minute, trying to calm himself because he knew it was inevitable that she would find out eventually. He just really wanted her to be able to enjoy the triumphant part of it for a few minutes before they had to talk about the other stuff. He knew that the moment she read what they wrote about Becks and Daniel that she would forget everything else and focus on how angry she was that the tabloids were maligning her best friends.

“Betty, everyone has always speculated about you and I and you and Becks. Hell, the tabloids have even speculated about Becks and I! This is nothing new. As for them talking about our pasts; it’s nothing that we haven’t heard before and certainly nothing we can’t handle.”

“I know, but you’re not those men anymore; they shouldn’t be dredging it back up.”

“It comes with the territory, Betty. The press sees it as a great story—the bad boys who settle down because of the influence of a good woman. It’s practically its own movie genre, Betty. Don’t worry about Becks and I; we’re used to handling it. The question I think both he and I have is how you’re handling it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t like this. How can they applaud me for punching Zach for cheating and also think that I am dating both you and Becks? It doesn’t make sense—wouldn’t that mean that I’m cheating on one or both of you?”

“Most of them claim that you’ve dated one or both of us in the past so it doesn’t conflict with the image of you taming playboys. That timeframe actually helps that image. It’s kind of brilliant, really. If Zach was smart, he would put out a press release apologizing to you and saying that you’ve opened his eyes to what he was doing wrong and then start publicly dating some regular person.”

“A ‘plain Jane’?”

“You know that’s not what I meant. Betty, I wouldn’t let this get to you. Really, you should just ignore it, let it go and keep going about your life. There are probably going to be press around you for a few days, wanting to snap a picture or try to interview you. Suzuki has even already called the office, asking for an interview with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. His show called Becks and I each directly to try to get a comment since they practically have us on speed dial but they called the office for you because it was the only number they had.”

“What did you and Becks say?”

“Becks, from what he told me, hung up before they finished asking the question. Unless they actually send someone to Tokyo to talk to him, I don’t think they’re going to get anything from him. I said no. I think you should too. They’re going to want to play up the angle of you being with Becks or I and it will get ugly quickly. If Suzuki wanted to poke around, he’d figure out easily about Zachary’s real name and his relationship with Gwenn. It would cause a press frenzy to have something like that.”

“What? How do you know about Zach’s real name and wait…he dated Gwenn?”

“Oh shit, I thought Becks had told you. How do you know about Zach’s real name?”

“He told me about it during an interview. Don’t change the subject though, Daniel. Becks didn’t tell me about any of this but you’re going to now.”

“Crap. Zach, er, Ezra as he was called back then, dated Gwenn for three years. Their relationship ended when Gwenn found out he’d been cheating on her for almost the entirety of the relationship. He broke her heart.”

“And Becks has hated him ever since. Yeah, I know this story. I didn’t realize that Zach or Ezra or whoever he is was the one who cheated on Gwenn. If I had known that I wouldn’t have dated him. I definitely wouldn’t have humiliated myself at the premier. Daniel, I need to go. I have a really important call I have to make right now.”

“Betty, wait. I know you’re going to call Becks and yell at him. I don’t think you should but I know that won’t stop you but there’s one other thing you need to know.”

“What is it, Daniel?”

“The other reason I don’t think you should do the Suzuki interview is because I’ve heard that because of your association with me and even Becks, Suzuki wants to use the interview as a way to launch a whole thing about you being the new Sofia Reyes. It’s to help ratings. He wants to get maximum play out of it and he wants to spring it on you during the interview to get your reaction to it.”

“Wow. That’s terrible, especially after what Sofia did to you. Thank you for telling me. At least one of the two of you tells me something. I’ll see you at the office, Daniel.”

Betty angrily hung up on Daniel and immediately called Becks.

_I don’t care what time it is in Tokyo. You are going to have to deal with this right now._

 

Becks picked up his phone, knowing that it could only be Betty or Daniel, since it was waking him up just as he was finally falling asleep for a few minutes after not sleeping at all the previous night. Honestly, Becks knew it was almost certainly Betty. When he answered he wasn’t able to launch into an exploration of the time because he was immediately met with yelling.

“Why didn’t you tell me Zachary was the asshole who cheated on Gwenn?!”

“Hold on, you have to give me a second to wake up before you expect me to give answers that will get me out of the dog house, honey.”

“Don’t you honey me. You knew who he was and you didn’t warn me?! There are youtube videos of our argument, Becks. Millions of people have watched them. I think there’s even a remix set to music already. I have Suzuki wanting to interview me so he can trash me on TV. I was humiliated at his premier in front of the press and hundreds of people. All of this happened because you couldn’t send me a text message saying ‘lol Zach was the guy that cheated on Gwenn’?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t have said ‘lol’ because that’s obnoxious, even in text. But Betty, it’s not like that. I didn’t know until it was too late. I only knew him as Ezra when he dated Gwenn because they started dating before he became semi-famous. It wasn’t until Daniel put it together and sent me his picture that I figured it out. If you check your phone, I called you a million times to try to warn you. I sent you texts telling you to call me ASAP, too. You didn’t answer and you didn’t respond. What was I going to do, hire a skywriter?”

“No. You did the right thing. It just didn’t get to me in time. I can’t believe this. It’s so weird.”

“Well, I guess I should have been more explicit in my texts to you. I just didn’t think it was the type of thing that you tell someone via text. I was hoping that you would see one of the others and call me since I said it was urgent and then I could tell you. How did you find out? I hope it wasn’t from some tabloid story or something. I didn’t see anything about that in any of the ones I skimmed.”

“No, Daniel mentioned it when we were on the phone earlier, talking about how Suzuki wanted to do an interview with me. Daniel suggested I not do it just in case they started poking around and found out about Zach’s past with Gwenn. He thought they’d have a field day with it, especially considering how they’re including speculation about you and I and even Daniel and I.”

Becks knew she was leaving out how Suzuki wanted to paint her as the new Sofia Reyes and figured it would be best not to address that piece right then. “I agree with Daniel on this—the tabloids would eat it up. It would be the type of soap opera drama that they live for. I guess on the lighter side, you and Gwenn now share a lot more than just me.”

“We shared more than that before but this is more than I’d prefer.”

“I know it’s weird. Just know that what he did has nothing to do with his career, publicity, gossip girls or anything else. It also has nothing to do with you. He’s always been like this. He cheated on Gwenn long before he changed his name or was anyone people wanted to know.”

“Yeah, if he can cheat on someone like Gwenn, he’ll cheat on anyone.”

“Betty, you’re beautiful. Anyone who cheats on you or acts like they want to hide you is an idiot.”

“Thanks. Speaking of which, how are the ladies over there? Anyone new?”

“You know there isn’t. The celibate life is great. I’ve become the wingman for every woman I work with. It’s weird but also flattering. Five years ago I wouldn’t have believed anyone if they told me that this would be my current life.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.   I wouldn’t trade it for anything and you know it.”

“Sure, whatever Becks.”

“So Daniel sent me a link to Amanda’s camera phone video from the premier. It’s different from the original video that went viral. It’s interesting how the other ones didn’t show that there was more to that conversation than what they posted originally.”

“Oh, what do you mean, Becks?”

Becks sat up in his bed, willing himself to convey all of his sincerity and hope in what he was about to say. “I mean that I want to know if you meant what you said after you punched him?”

Betty swallowed and took a calming breath to stop the tears that she felt welling up in her throat. “Every word.”

“So, like I said, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. As long as you meant what you said to him, that’s good enough for me.”

“This isn’t fair. You can’t say things like this when you’re a thirteen hour flight away.”

“Well, I am and I said it so it’s too late.   Don’t get me started on things that aren’t fair.”

Betty groaned and proceeded quietly. “Like me dating the guy who cheated on your sister and broke her heart while you’re on a different continent and then the tabloids plastering your past all over to make me look like a hero?”

“Well, that wasn’t specifically what I was referring to but no, I didn’t love any of it. That’s for sure. But you know I’ll support whatever you want and you’re the one who got hurt here; not me. If this situation wasn’t fair to someone, it was you. It’s not like you went into it knowing who he was, as we’ve established. I just really hope he, like, double wrapped his shit when you had sex. I mean, as much as I would and will help you raise any child of yours, I would probably have to never be in the same room as him again if I was helping you raise a child that was also his.”

“You almost sound jealous.”

“I’m not. I made the decision to be your friend no matter what. I’m not your boyfriend so I have no reason to be upset or jealous when you date someone else. I may not like the guy but I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

“I know. That’s why I said what I did to Zach. I really do know you’ll always be there for me. Now, you should go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s OK. Why do we do this every time? Do I really need to tell you every time we talk that I like talking to you, no matter the time?”

“Yes.   Just like I have to tell you I miss you because I know you like hearing it.”

“That’s true, though I like to believe you really tell me you miss me because you actually do. But anyway, I really do like hearing your voice, not matter what time it is. I don’t actually mind.”

“Good because I feel better now that I’ve talked to you. I really do miss you.”

“Me too. Good night, Betty.”

“Good night. And Becks?”

“Yeah?”

“You won’t ever have to worry about needing to help raise Zachary’s child. I never slept with him.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. It just never quite felt right.”

“Betty?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to sound jealous because it’s none of my business but I am glad to hear that.”

Becks put down the phone when he heard the call end. He rolled over on his bed and thought about how it would only be another week until he could finally be there in person without having to worry about leaving again. He could count on his fingers the days and the shoots he had left before that.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newest chapter. It's not great; kind of just a bridge to the next part. Sorry it took so long to get posted; life has been getting in the way lately and a bit of writer's block. I'll hopefully have a couple more chapters up soon!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty or its characters. Please don't sue me.

Betty tried to concentrate on her work that day, she really did. It was hard to do, though, when the phone rang every three minutes and when it rang it wasn’t someone calling about one of her articles. No, it was someone calling about an article or segment they wanted to do on her. She didn’t want to be someone else’s feature article.

When she had left for work, she had had to avoid a swarm of photographers as she left her apartment. She had never been so happy to have the Mode town car waiting to whisk her away. When she got to the Meade building, the swarm waiting for her had been even bigger than the one at her apartment and she had pushed through them as quickly as possible. She knew Justin always dreamed of being hounded by the press or having one of his family members pursued by them but just from dealing with it personally that morning, she knew that it was only because he had never had to experience it. When she had arrived on Mode’s floor, Amanda had handed her 15 phone messages that had already come in from her-- all from people wanting interviews.

After 2 hours of answering and then hanging up the phone on reporter after reporter, Betty admitted to herself that she wouldn’t be able to get anything done in her office. She picked up the projects she needed to work on and walked over to Daniel’s office and went in since he seemed to be at his desk, working on his laptop.

“Daniel, can I please work in here? My phone won’t stop ringing and I don’t have anyone to screen my calls like you do.”

“Sure, Betty. You know I wouldn’t ever mind you working in here with me. Just grab a chair and work wherever you want. If you want, I can have Amanda go get lunch for you later so you don’t have to leave and deal with the swarm that’s outside. I was going to do the same thing, actually.”

“Thanks, Daniel. That would be great. I really appreciate it.” Betty sat down at Daniel’s desk so she was sitting across from him and could still use the surface to work on.

Now that she could actually concentrate and could immerse herself in her work, she seemed to be flying through it, getting more done in 30 minutes than she usually did in a couple hours.

“Wow, I should work in here more often; I feel like I’m being super productive,” Betty quipped as they both chuckled. Betty stopped laughing when she saw Daniel’s face go pale as he stared at his laptop screen.

“No, no, no. Shit! No, we got rid of this! How did that happen?”

Betty jumped up and began walking around the desk. “What’s wrong, Daniel?”

Daniel looked up nervously at Betty as she approached. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Daniel quickly replied, slamming his laptop shut before she could see the screen.

“Oh, now I’m definitely not going to believe you. What don’t you want me to see, Daniel?”

“Nothing.”

“Daniel, what is it?”

“Really, Betty, you don’t want to see it.”

“Daniel, show it to me.”

Daniel sighed heavily. “OK, fine, but let me explain before you react, OK?”

“Fine, Daniel.”

Daniel opened his laptop and showed Betty what he had been reacting to—an e-mail alert from Fashion TV that featured a pretty low quality picture of Becks walking with Betty, his arm around her waist and her leaning against him. From the background, it appeared they had just left one of the shows at Fashion Week.

“Oh wow, this is from my first Fashion Week. Someone must have snapped this when Becks and I left the Mode Fashion Week show after party. He was worried about me since I was pretty drunk.” Betty was careful to leave out the rest of the story, although at this point she wasn’t really sure what difference it would make to Daniel.

“I know, Betty. Becks came over to my loft the next day to check on me. He let me know that he made sure you got home safely after drinking too much at the after party.”

“There’s a video embedded in this e-mail.”

“Suzuki’s commentary, I’m sure.”

Betty took a deep breath. “Well, I guess I have to find out what he says sooner or later. I might as well know now.” She clicked the play button on the video and hoped it wasn’t too bad.

“This just in, Fashionistas! Our little lady that could—the Plain Jane with the Playboys—may have wowed us with her 1-2-punch last night, but has been wowing and wooing some of New York’s most notorious bachelors for years, it seems. In a never before released shot from Mode’s infamous Fashion Week show, where Alex Meade came back from the dead as Alexis, our Plain Jane is seen leaving the Mode after party with none other than the notorious playboy and best friend of Mode’s Editor-in-Chief, Beckett Scott.   According to our sources, neither was seen without the other for the rest of the night. Given how much our favorite Playboy Tamer has been pictured with the same member of the New York Playboy Club, we have to wonder how long has she been ‘taming’ the wild Beckett Scott?”

“Oh god, how ridiculous.   It’s not even the real story.”

“It’s almost never the real story. In some ways the real one would be better and worse—no one would believe that Becks just took you home when you were drunk. Not the Becks that people remember from back then. I’m sorry about this, Betty. I know that Becks thought he had taken care of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“The day after the show, a paparazzi called Becks, telling him he had a photo of you two leaving the after party. While Becks knew no one would pick it up the first few days after the show due to my Dad getting arrested and Alexis coming back from the dead, he was worried that it would get picked up later by someone once things slowed down. So Becks bought it off of the guy. I know the guy gave him the negative and the exposure. I don’t think he would have crossed Becks on this, though. Someone else must have been there and taken the shot Suzuki is showing.”

“Wait, Becks bought the picture from the paparazzi?”

“Yes.”

“What? Was he too shallow and ashamed to have a picture of us together out there? He just wanted to hide being seen with me?”

“Betty, wait. I think you have the wrong impression. First of all, this was three years ago and Becks was a very different person than he is now. But second, Becks didn’t buy the picture because he was ashamed of being seen with you. He was actually worried that you would be humiliated because of what they would say about you two—that they would essentially make you into one of Becks many one-night stands. You were already upset with everything that had happened at the show and by how people here treated you; he didn’t want it to get worse. Also, he might have been worried I would get mad at him if anything showed up on page six about you two, especially if it did humiliate you.” Daniel blushed a little at the last admission.

“I guess I can see that happening. So Becks was really worried you’d be mad and that I’d be humiliated?” Betty couldn’t believe that the Becks she met at Fashion Week back then would be worried about her, even if he did let her crash his plans that night.

“Yes. He was frantic about it. I still remember him calling me. There was a lot of swearing involved. The whole ordeal also involved a lot of alcohol by the end of it. Specifically, it involved a lot of scotch for both of us.”

“What happened to the negatives?”

“Oh, they’re being safely protected by Becks. I couldn’t tell you where now. I suspect he knows exactly where they are, though.”

“So then it must be someone else. I mean, since it was Fashion Week it shouldn’t surprise me that a ton of paparazzi would be there. I was just a little…out of it.”

Daniel looked over at her with a smirk on his face and his eyebrows raised. “I suppose that would be a way to put it from what Becks told me.”

“What?! He promised me he wouldn’t tell anyone!”

“What is there to tell? He just told me that you were really drunk off of champagne and that he made sure you were OK after the party and took you home.” Daniel paused and noted Betty’s uncomfortable look. “Betty, is there more to the story? If there is, you know that Suzuki is going to use it and twist it. You might as well tell me.”

Betty nodded slowly. “I didn’t want to go home because Hilda was there. After what happened at the show—with everyone instantly liking her more than me and you two kissing—I didn’t want to have to go home and have to see her and talk to her. I was too mad; too hurt. Becks offered that I could stay at his hotel suite that night to sleep it off and he’d take me home in the morning.”

“So you spent the night with Becks at his hotel suite?”

“And nothing happened. We ate some food, watched a movie and talked. That’s it. Becks slept on the couch and the next morning, he took me home.”

Daniel placed his hand on Betty’s shoulder. “Betty, I believe you. Come on, if Becks sleeps on your couch when he stays at your apartment even now, I don’t think there’s any way that he wouldn’t have done the same back then.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Betty frowned and put her hands on her hips, waiting for Daniel’s response.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that I’ve learned my lesson on assuming anything like that about the two of you. But Betty, do I really need to tell you that this is going to end up looking really bad if Suzuki is able to find any additional pictures of the two of you? Now that this one is out there, anyone who still has anything from back then is going to come out of the woodwork. A paparazzi might not have been able to sell those photos back then for much but right now they’d get top dollar, I’m sure. Suzuki is going to spin this, Betty.”

“God, I never thought about whether there were paparazzi outside the hotel that night. If I didn’t notice them outside the party, though, I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed them there, either.”

“And Becks didn’t notice them at the time so it seems like they were being pretty inconspicuous, surprisingly. What hotel was he staying at, Betty?”

“The Plaza, I think.”

“Great, only the hotel everyone stays at for Fashion Week. It’s almost guaranteed that there was a photographer out there. Betty, you’re going to have to be ready for the things they’re going to say about this if it comes out.”

“It’s not Suzuki I’m worried about. It’s Papi.”

“But Ignacio loves Becks.”

“I know, but I’m not sure he’s going to be too thrilled when he hears a story that claims that I spent the night at Becks hotel room that implies that he didn’t sleep on the couch.”

“It will be fine, Betty. Ignacio will understand when you tell him what happened. There’s a good likelihood he won’t know immediately since he doesn’t watch Fashion TV; Justin does. But Betty, slow down for a minute. Maybe nothing more will come of it.”

As if on queue, Daniel’s inbox pinged, indicating that he just received a new e-mail. Daniel and Betty both immediately looked over and saw that there was a new Fashion TV alert.

“Well, we’re going to find out really quickly if they found something more.” Betty leaned forward to click on the new e-mail. A window popped up with just the words “Just in about our favorite Plain Jane!” Below that there was just an imbedded video.

“We don’t have to watch it now, Betty.”

“It’s better that I watch it now so I can hopefully find out before Papi does.”

Betty clicked on the video and waited a moment until Suzuki’s face appeared on screen.

“More information has just come in about our favorite Plain Jane, Fashionistas! While she may be style impaired, we’re learning that her touch with the playboys is anything but impaired. Our sources tell us that on the fateful night when playboy extraordinaire Beckett Scott was seen walking out of the Mode after party with her, the two walked in to The Plaza Hotel, where Mr. Scott was staying, together later that night. A new shot has confirmed this for us.” Betty watched as a picture of Betty and Becks walking across the sidewalk from the town car appeared on the screen. She noticed how in this picture Becks’ arm was around her waist again but this time she seemed to be leaning more heavily against him, almost so that he was partially carrying her. After several seconds the picture disappeared and was replaced by another that was clearly from the next morning. In it, she was wearing the same clothes as the night before and she and Becks were walking side-by-side across the sidewalk, clearly headed to get into the town car.

“Neither was seen until the next morning when they were seen leaving The Plaza.   As seen in this picture, our favorite Plain Jane was still wearing her outfit from the night before.” The picture disappeared and instead it was Suzuki back on the screen. “According to our sources, it seems that soon after this fateful night, our favorite Beckett Scott began to slow down his playboy ways. Coincidence? Not likely. Our sources also tell us that the next time when our Plain Jane was seen with Mr. Scott was at the Fashion Cares party at none other than Wilhelmina Slater’s apartment. The two left in a scandalous flourish and weren’t seen for the rest of the evening. What did Beckett Scott, our Plain Jane and the other member of the Reformed Playboys club—Daniel Meade—have to say about all of this? Mum’s the word. Calls for comment to Mr. Scott, our Plain Jane and even Daniel Meade haven’t been returned. But to us it looks like Mr. Scott started down his long path to reform after one night with our Plain Jane. So this all makes us wonder—what about all of the other beaus in our fashion challenged reformer’s life?”

“Well, I guess the inevitable came out. Excuse me while I go call Papi before he sees this. I’d prefer he hear about it all from me before he jumps to any conclusions, too.”

“Yeah, you should go call him. I’ll let you know if anything else gets sent out. I’m sorry about all of this, Betty. I know that Becks was trying to make sure something like this didn’t happen.” Daniel gave Betty’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“I know, Daniel. It’s no one’s fault. No one could have predicted everything with Zach would turn into this.” Betty picked up her cell phone and walked out of Daniel’s office.

Daniel walked over and stared out the window at the city below, feeling horrible for Betty that all of this was suddenly coming out and wondering why the photographers who had those pictures wouldn’t have tried to do what the other one did all those years ago and just called Becks. A minute later, Daniel’s cell phone rang. Daniel looked to see who it was and was confused when he saw it was Becks since it was probably the middle of the night in Tokyo.

“Hey Becks.”

“Those motherfuckers.”

“I’m guessing that you saw the latest update from Fashion TV?”

“Yep. I hate Suzuki. They’ve been calling me nonstop. I’ve given up on getting any sleep. I’m assuming that Betty is with you?”

“Yes, well, she was. She just left my office to go call Ignacio before he sees the segment or, rather, hears about it from Justin. She wanted him to hear it from her.”

“Shit. She’s probably going to be mad that I’ve already called him, isn’t she?”

“Uh, yes. Becks, this is Betty 101. You should have called her first. Why did you call Ignacio before Betty? And how did you do that so fast? There’s no way that conversation with Ignacio was short.”

“I got an e-mail from Fashion TV with the pictures, asking if I had anything to say about them. They had been calling me all night. The e-mail must have come about 5 minutes before the segment aired. As soon as I saw it, I checked the time and called Ignacio. I wanted to let him know immediately what really happened that night because I didn’t want him to get upset at Betty. I figured if I told him first it would make things easier for her. Besides, I figured that Betty was with you and I could always call her afterwards, which I tried to right before I called you but I’m sure she was on the phone with Ignacio already. Also, since you don’t seem upset at me, I’m guessing Betty told you what happened.”

“She did. Becks, I understand why you didn’t tell me about it back then; I wouldn’t have told me either. How did Ignacio take it?”

“Not well at first—when I first laid out to Ignacio what Fashion TV would be saying and swore it wasn’t the truth, he was speaking entirely in Spanish. I’m pretty positive that it was mostly swearing. It took me a bit to convince him that I slept on the couch but it helps that he knows me and he’s friends with Gus so I think he was more willing to listen. By the end of the conversation he seemed satisfied that nothing happened and was just happy that Betty was safe and taken care of that night. He’s not happy about what is going to be said about her and I know it’s my fault. I really thought I had taken care of this back then.”

“Betty’s safety and happiness is always first on Ignacio’s mind, Becks. Having you as a friend or whatever you are at this point makes her happy and Ignacio knows that. You can’t blame yourself for not having found every photographer who snapped a shot that night.”

“I know but as soon as I find out who those photographers are, I’m going to make sure they don’t work ever again in this city.”

Daniel chuckled softly into the phone. “Becks, you and I both know you won’t do that. First of all, revenge has never been your strong suit. Second, I know you’d feel too guilty about putting someone out of work to do that. Third, Betty would never allow it and she’d be mad at you if you did something like that. If nothing else, you’d back down because you don’t want to make her angry with you.” He could hear Becks sigh heavily on the line.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, Daniel. Just let me live in the fantasy world where I would be able to do something like that and enjoy the catharsis. It makes me feel better about the situation at least momentarily. Not only can I not do anything about it but I’m also on a different continent so I can’t even be there to help.”

“Sorry, man. But hey, you’re not there forever and you know Betty understands.”

“I know. She can hold her own better than you or I ever could, I suspect. But still, I wish she didn’t have to.”

“Becks, stop worrying. This will pass and you’ll be here in what, 6 days? Just focus on that and right now, focus on calling Betty. I’ll text you as soon as I know she’s off the phone with Ignacio. She feels betrayed by Zach and a lot of her personal life is now being splashed across the internet and TV right now. She is going to want to talk to her friend, no matter where you are.”

“Thanks, Daniel. I know you’re right. Do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“If you can tonight, see if you can convince her to go with you over to Gus’s to say hi. Maybe see if Gwenn can go with you, even. I just don’t want her to be by herself in case she wants to talk.”

“No problem, Becks. I’ll give Gwenn a call and set it up.”

“Thanks Daniel. I’m going to call Betty.”

“Yep. I’ll talk to you later.”

Daniel hit the end button on his phone and silently hoped that there wouldn’t be any more alerts from Suzuki today. If there were more, he wasn’t sure that anyone would be able to keep Becks from getting on the first flight back immediately.

 

Betty hung up after talking to Ignacio and scanned the Mode office, confused by the conversation she just had with him. When she had called, Ignacio hadn’t been surprised and told her that Becks had already called him and explained everything. He only told her that he was glad that nothing bad had happened and that she was safe that night. She looked down as her phone chimed and saw a simple text from Becks.

_Saw the Fashion Alert. Give me a call? –B_

She quickly called him and was listening to the phone ring, waiting for him to answer.

“Before you say anything, Betty, just let me say that I know I screwed up by not calling you before Ignacio. I had a good reason for why I called him but I know you’re probably mad at me so please just let me make this better, OK? Whatever it is that I need to do, I’m willing to do it. Just name it.”

“It’s fine, Becks. I just got off the phone with Papi. He told me he talked to you and that you had explained everything. He was actually fine and understood what had happened and why I hadn’t told him back then. It actually was helpful that you had talked to him already. I didn’t have to argue with him or try to explain anything.”

“So I didn’t completely screw up, then?”

Betty smiled at his question, wishing that he wasn’t across an ocean right then. “No, not completely, though I would have appreciated it if you had called me first just because then I would have had a heads up on what Suzuki was going to say since apparently you knew before it aired.”

“I didn’t really know exactly what he was going to say but I could guess based on their voicemails and then the e-mail I got from them. I knew the pictures were going to come out and I could guess what that was going to mean. I called Ignacio first because I knew you would be with Daniel and that he would be there for you until I could call and talk to you. I just didn’t want you to have to deal with Zach betraying you, the media saying some pretty personal and suggestive things about you _and_ your father being upset with you. I figured that I could at least fix one of those for you since I couldn’t do anything about the other two.”

“But you tried. You warned me that you didn’t trust Zach. And you tried to make sure that the picture of us leaving the fashion show’s after party didn’t hit the press back then.”

“So Daniel told you about that?”

“Yes, he did. Why didn’t you?”

“At that time I figured that I might not ever really talk to you again other than maybe in passing at the Mode offices every now and then and I figured you were better off not knowing. When we started seeing more of each other recently I knew I was going to tell you at some point but I figured it wasn’t that important since I figured it would never become public knowledge. When I was back in New York I was going to tell you about it. It just suddenly became an issue today. I feel really horrible about it, Betty. I’m so sorry this happened.”

“Becks, it’s not your fault. It’s not like you planted photographers outside the party or outside the hotel. Besides, I was the one who made the decision to get drunk that night. If it’s even remotely anyone’s fault, it’s mine. You were just being helpful that night. I can’t believe you bought the negatives from the one photographer, though. That had to be expensive.”

“Eh, it didn’t matter. I just didn’t want you to be embarrassed about it after everything else that had happened to you. You were so sad when you talked about how people at Mode didn’t accept you and how you felt out of place. I didn’t want it to get any worse for you. I figured that I could at least do that for you. Unfortunately, I was wrong.”

“Becks, it doesn’t matter what they’re saying anymore. Apparently there have been rumors about us for a while. There have even been rumors about Daniel and I. It doesn’t matter. The only things that do matter are that they don’t find out about Gwenn and Zach and that everything blows over soon so I can see you when you come back in a few days without a cloud of cameras following me.”

“I agree. You’re handling all of this really well. Are you sure you’re not upset about Zach still?”

“I am. I mean, originally I thought I was just hiding him from Daniel so he wouldn’t get upset about the conflict of interest, but it just turned out that he was hiding me all along. I felt like maybe I had changed and things would be different but who am I kidding? Guys like Zach are always going to be embarrassed by me and not want to be seen with me in public.” Betty could hear Becks’ quiet, sad groan on the other end of the line followed by a heavy sigh.

“Betty, guys like Zach are idiots. There is nothing wrong with you; you’re wonderful. Zach just wanted to be seen with someone famous to help his career. That’s what he does. It has nothing to do with you. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and Zach is a jackass who can’t see that he hurt the best woman he will ever meet. I know you’re hurt over what he did. You have every right to feel betrayed because he did betray you but you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself. You’re wonderful.”

“Thanks, Becks. Talking to you always makes me feel better.”

“And I love talking to you, no matter what time it is.”

“Becks?”

“Yes, Betty?”

“Go back to sleep. I know you have to be tired.”

“OK, I will. But you should go out with Daniel and Gwenn tonight to Gus’s place and relax. Just have a good time and maybe we can talk later after I’ve slept?”

“I can agree to that. Sweet dreams. Miss you.”

“Me too. I’ll see you soon, you know.”

“I know. I can’t wait.”


End file.
